Rebirth
by RyoshiMorino
Summary: After Third Impact, Shinji is left alone in a world all his own. It's what he wanted right...or so he thought. What he didn't know was that he wasn't alone. Adam, the first angel creater of the seventeen angels, allows a higher angel to descend and stand before the Third Child and offer him a choice. Return to the beginning and stop Third Impact, or repeat the process?
1. Chapter 1

_**Aggravation, ever had that? Whenever I have an idea about a story it nags and nags at me until I start writing it down! So here we go again, folkis, I have no idea how popular this will be, but I'm just expressing myself the only way I know how, by writing!**_

_**Summary**__**: After Third Impact, Shinji is left alone in a world all his own. It's what he wanted right...or so he thought. What he didn't know was that he wasn't alone. Adam, the first angel creator of the seventeen angels, allows a higher angel to descend and stand before the Third Child and offer him a choice. Return to the beginning and stop Third Impact, or repeat the process all over again.**_

_**1: Re-Turn**_

* * *

Shinji looked out over the ruined city again for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past day or so. Tokyo-3 lay before him looking like nothing but a pile of ruble. And it was all his fault. Once again he had been used by his father, and mankind had suffered because of it. He had hated it to the extent that he had let go of everything he held dear. Misato, Rei, Asuka, Touji, Kensuke, Hikari, all his friends were gone now. All because of him.

"This is stupid," he said, just to hear something other than the silence. "What exactly am I expecting to happen?" After everything had ended, nothing had been left. No life, not even animals. "It's not like anything's going to happen."

Oddly enough, he didn't feel any hunger or thirst, even though it had been at least two days, he didn't feel anything. "Probably because I was inside Unit 01." The giant humanoid robot had some how disappeared after Third Impact, there was no trace of the machine. The only thing that was left of was the white stone face of Lilith in the sea of LCL that disturbingly reminded him of a smiling Rei Ayanami.

"Why did I wish for this?" Shinji asked himself, "Did I really want everything destroyed like this?"

"That is a fine question." Said a voice behind him, making Shinji yelp as he jumped. He turned around, almost smiling at the voice, happy to finally hear another besides his own.

What greeted him was a shock, "Kaworu?"

The person in front of him laughed lightly, "No, I am not my little brother, Tabris. I am someone of greater power than he." He looked almost exactly like Kaworu, except he seemed taller, and had more color to his skin, and his eyes were golden instead of red. "I am of the true angels, Adam's first children. The ones you knew and fought against were those of the fallen, they who bring about the end of all things."

Shinji, though he knew that an angel now stood before him, felt little to no fear at all. "So, what do you want with me?" The boy asked, "Are you here to kill me?"

The angel threw back his head and laughed, "No, child, not in the least! I may be his right hand, but I only fight his battles when Adam requires me to do so. No, I am here of my own choosing." He stopped laughing and took a step toward the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder. "As you know, Adam was reduced to nothing but an embyro of his former self, and Lilith was crucified by your people at NERV, as they should be, so now my brothers, sisters, and myself are free to do as we please, even here, in a world that knows neither Adam nor Lilith. Only you, Shinji Ikari."

"And what do you want?" Shinji asked, growing impatient, "I'm happy to see another face, but what could an angel want with me now that the Earth is destroyed?"

The angel smiled, "That is the question, isn't it? You see, while Adam nor Lilith no longer have dominion over this world and have moved on to other worlds, you alone were left behind to decide the fate of this one."

"Me?" Shinji blinked, "Why me?"

Again the angel smiled, "Because of the Human Instrumentality Project, you, Shinji Ikari, have become an angel yourself." Shinji's eyes widened at this in alarm, but the angel in front of him waved it off, "No need to worry, little brother, you can still go back to being a Lilin if you wish."

Shinji, over coming his shock, sighed, "What good will that do? I'm stuck here in this...hell. There's nothing to go back to."

The angel sighed, "Not back to this world you dummy, back to the past!"

"What?!"

"As I was saying," the angel went on, "I've come down here to try and put things right, because with or without those fools in Seele, Adam and Lilith would have broken free and left the Earth alone. And you Lilin would have been free of them. My lower brothers and sisters would never have troubled your people again. But Seele and Gendo Ikari forced their hands."

"And how is that going to help me?" Shinji asked.

"I'm getting to that," he said, "Now the idea is to send you back in time to when my foolish little brother, Sachiel, attacked Tokyo-3 and you became an Eva pilot. I ask you this so that you can lead humanity to a better life."

Shinji looked slightly angry, "You're asking me to go through all of that again?! The was the epitome of hell for me! I fought for my life every time one of the angels attacked! I was an outcast! I watched as my own Eva tore my best friend apart, while another angel drove my other friend crazy, and another sacrificed herself to kill an angel!"

"And with your knowledge, and my help, you could prevent that this time around," the angel said, replacing his hand on Shinji's shoulder, "Brother, many things went wrong with that timeline. Many because of what your father put you through, and more because of your own indecision." Shinji looked away in shame. But the angel continued, "Yes, many of your friends died because of the lower angels of destruction, but you now have a chance to put it all right. They would be alive again, and you could be stronger for them and give them all the help you should have been able to give if only you hadn't been so lonely."

"I can't stand against my father," Shinji said, a hint of fear in his voice, "He'd kill me if I went against him."

"That's where I come in," said the angel, "If you do decide to go back, my brother, I will protect you the best I can without revealing myself." He pointed at Shinji's hand, "And, when I can't protect you, my siblings and I can give you a little of our power to protect yourself."

Shinji looked a little surprised, "Why would you do all this for me, anyway? Aren't I the cause of all this?"

The angel shook his head, "No you aren't the cause of it, merely the key. You did no sin by Adam's standards, or mine for that matter. I see no reason not to give you a second chance at being happy...so long as you keep Gendo from getting what he wants. It wouldn't work either way."

"Why's that?" Shinji asked.

"Because in all realities I've looked through, he never lives to see it through, causing Rei Ayanami to merge with Lilith, and seek you out, causing Third Impact." The angel sighed, "It's a shame that the man could never see what he had in front of him because he was always looking behind him to get to his wife." He shook his head, "But still it always amazes me that he could love someone so much that he'd risk the wrath of the one your people would call God just to be with her again."

Shinji looked down sadly, "He never showed anything like that to me. Only Rei, but I guess that's because she looked like Mom so much."

The angel nodded, "That's part of it, but the other reason is because she was part of your mother. In a way, Rei Ayanami is you blood-related sister, Shinji Ikari."

To say Shinji was stunned would have been an understatement, "Wha- How's she my sister?!" He shouted, "What the hell is going on?!"

"Easy there, Brother," the angel said, holding up his hands, "It was an experiment conducted by Seele and your father. He cloned some of your mother's DNA to make an egg, which he impregnated with angel DNA. The result being that Yui Ikari now had a daughter that she could not bestow her love upon because she was trapped inside your Unit 01."

For a long time Shinji just stared at the angel, not knowing how he could help change the fate of the world. But the idea of going back and stopping this from happening was tempting, too tempting.

"What would happen to the world if I stopped my father?" Shinji asked, "If Instrumentality was stopped, where would mankind be?"

Now the angel looked slightly sad, his smiled dropping. "This is the unavoidable part, Brother, because Seele, no matter what, will attack NERV headquarters with the Mass Produced Evangelions. Should you defeat them, I foresee something akin to what Lilin call an EMP blast coming in the near future that originates from the Seele headquarters. This blast would be so great that it would all but bring the world to a standstill. But the Lilin would survive as they did for thousands of years." He said, his smile returning, "And I see your happiness as well, Shinji Ikari, a true happiness."

"And I'll be able to help my friends?" Shinji asked.

"That and more," the angel extended his hand, "Do we have a deal?"

Shinji reached for the hand, "I don't even know your name."

"Ah, forgive me," he said as he grasped the boy's hand, "My name is Abraham."

Suddenly everything started to darken and fade away. Shinji's vision blurred as Abraham's body glowed a blinding white. "It's time to go. Good-bye, Shinji Ikari. Send a prayer to me once Sachiel has been defeated in battle. Then I will come to you in your dreams to grant you my blessings." Abraham's voice echoed through his ears until it faded away as everything else did. And the Third Child fell through space and time.

xXx

Shinji opened his eyes to find himself holding a green pay phone in his hand, a mechanical voice coming through the receiver telling him of a state of emergency and urging him to take shelter. He blinked in confusion at his new surroundings. He was on the street, a perfectly intact street. There were no huge chunks missing, no massive craters. But what caught his attention the most was the blue sky and the lack of LCL.

Tokyo-3 was back to the way it was before Third Impact.

"I'm back..." he breathed out, on the verge of tears, "I'm really back!" He could have jumped for joy had it not been for the massive tremor that shook the ground beneath him. He snapped his head around and caught sight of gunships hovering just in front of a massive green bipedal creature with a mask for a face and hulking shoulders.

"Sachiel!" The gunships fired off multiple missiles at the monster which exploded on contact, but did no damage at all

The scream of tires against the road caught his attention as a familiar blue car fish tailed around only for the passenger door to pop open. "Hi there, sorry I'm late!" Misato said with a smile, "Get in, we need to get out of here!"

Shinji didn't hesitate, or even stop to say hello. This was it, the starting point of it all. He climbed in, and buckled his seat belt. "Let's go!"

Misato smiled at him, "I like that attitude of yours."

Shinji smiled back at his past, and now future, guardian and friend, "Thanks, its new. I like the car."

Misato threw the car into reverse and stepped on the gas just as Sachiel's foot came crashing down where they'd been sitting moments later. "Thanks, it's new, too!" The car swerved around while she threw it into third and sped away from the battle.

Shinji actually felt a little thrill rush through him as the car flew down the streets. The feeling of moving so fast after what seemed like forever in a lifeless world was like a dream as they climbed up a hill and pulled to a stop to watch the battle that was raging out of control as the gunships continued their assaults. But Shinji knew that the bullets and missiles wouldn't do any good against an angel.

Suddenly the gunships dispersed and fled. Misato saw this and grabbed a pair of binoculars, "What the hell?" She looked above the angel, "Oh, crap! They're gonna use an N2 mine! Get down!" She dove over Shinji just as he ducked down. He'd forgotten this part, even though it was probably the most memorable of them all.

Outside the N2 mine crashed into the angel causing an explosion akin to a nuclear blast. The car rolled as the force of the blast pushed them 's stomach felt like it was about to fly out of his throat at any moment when they stopped. Misato pushed her sunglasses down over her eyes and peeked out. Shinji, not wanting another mouth full of dirt, stayed put, knowing full well that the explosion had given them the time they needed to put the car back on the ground.

xXx

Gendo Ikari smirked as the JSSDF finally relinquished control of the mission to him and the NERV personel. The third angel's body on the screen was slowly beginning to regenerate as a new mask pushed the old one out of the way.

"Fuyutsuki, have Unit-01 prepped and ready to launch," he said coldly.

"Commander," Fuyutsuki said, a little shocked, "Sure you don't intend to use Rei?"

"No, I have Major Katsuragi bringing in a spare." He said, leaning against his clasped fingers, "The Third Child has been chosen."

Kozo Fuyuytsuki nodded in understanding, "Yes, sir." In truth he felt sorry for the boy. After ten years apart, this would be the worst possible reunion for the father and son.

xXx

"Are we lost?" Shinji asked, though he already knew the answer to that.

"Look I'm new here and I'm still learning my way around this place!" Misato said in a slight annoyance. _Ritsuko is so gonna kill me! _She thought, _Of all the things that could have happened on the day of the Third's arrival, an angel just had to show up! And my favorite dress was ruined by all that dirt that got blown at us with that damned N2 mine! And I looked so good in it too! _

The two stepped into an elevator and started their descent. Shinji was pretending to read the Welcome to NERV hand book as he fought back a laugh as the doors opened to reveal a very annoyed Ritsuko Akagi.

"Geh, oh, er, hi there Ritsuko." Misato said, shakily. Ritsuko stepped in, keeping the glare on her face as Misato stepped back. "Why are you wasting my time?" She asked, "You should already know your way around here without having to use a map!"

"Ehehe, sorry!" Misato said, making an apologetic gesture.

The blonde woman sighed, then looked at Shinji, "So, is this him?"

Shinji hmphed, "_Him_ has a name," he said, snapping his guide closed, "And it's Shinji, thank you very much." His tone wasn't harsh or haughty, but cool and even, reminding the woman slightly of his father.

She raised an eyebrow, "Shinji, hmm? Well, I can see you have your father's attitude."

"I don't think I do," he said matter of factly, "For that to happen, I'd have to be around him more often."

Ritsuko nodded, "I suppose you're right, but still, you resemble him."

Shinji gave an innocent smile, "Then I guess I'll just have to change since I don't want to be anything like that cold-hearted bastard that left me behind for ten years."

Ritsuko suddenly had an urge to slap him after insulting her commander, and someone she cared about. Shinji saw her hand twitch, and smiled, "I'm stronger than I look." This time his tone was full of warning which made her flinch.

Misato saw this as an excellent time to step in between them, "Now now, you two, we should try to get along." Ristsuko huffed and turned to press the desired level for the elevator.

Still smiling, Shinji said, "So, after all this, I assume we'll be discussing my payroll?"

"Payroll?!" Ritsuko snapped.

xXx

Ten hair pulling minutes later found the aggravated trio on a platform ascending to the bridge where a large purple giant was waiting for the fourteen year old boy. He played the part of an awed child to a T as they approached the machine. Seeing Unit-01 after so long felt like seeing an old friend, even though the thing still kept his mother trapped inside the core.

"Wow, a real robot!" Shinji said enthusiastically.

"That's right," Misato smiled, "this is mankind's ultimate weapon, the Evangelion Unit-01."

Ritsuko gave him a grim smile, "And you will be the pilot, Shinji Ikari."

"You want me to be the pilot?" Shinji feigned shock.

"Correct."

Shinji looked up, seeing the grim face of the man he hated the most. His father. Every once of his fascade dropped at that moment as an almost feral sneer appeared on the boy's face. "Well, I guess it's not surprising that you're here, Dad. But I never thought you'd come meet me yourself."

The two women beside him were more than a little surprised. Both of them had never seen anyone speak to their commanding officer that way, let alone a child.

Gendo showed little notice of the boy's attitude, "It was necessary for me to see you, as you are now a part of our organization." Shinji ground his teeth at the man's coldness, "As I said, you are now the pilot of this Eva unit."

Shinji crossed his arms, "And why should I do anything for you?" This got the attention of everyone, maintenance workers, and researchers alike. "You abandoned me when I was barely four years old, just after my mom died, and haven't spoken a word to me in ten years. And now, just when you find out that you need me to do something for you, you expect me to come to you and be the happy little boy that would do his father's bidding without question?"

A ghost of a smiled appeared on the man's face, "I'm glad to see the ten years away from me have helped you grow a spine, Shinji."

"I've grown more than a spine, Father." He spat, a slight flash of red gleaming in his blue-grey eyes. Too far away to see this, Gendo merely smiled again.

"So, you refuse to pilot it?" He asked.

Shinji smirked, "I didn't say that." Gendo was a little taken aback by this, expecting the boy to outright refuse him. "Since I am now technically your employee, and an invaluable one at that, I expect to be paid as such."

Ritsuko growled, "Again with that? Look kid, I -"

"That is agreeable." All eyes snapped back to the elder Ikari. "As an Eva pilot, you're given a card which acts as a limitless cash card, and personal ID which is reissued each month."

Shinji nodded, but last time he hadn't asked about his privileges as a pilot, now was as good a time as any. "What else does being a pilot entail?"

"Legality to drive if you wish to apply for a license, a furnished living space," Ritsuko said, still a little stunned that the commander had relented, "What more could you want?"

Shinji smirked, deciding to throw the blonde off, "Would a hot woman be out of the question?" Ritsuko sputtered, but Misato, who'd never seen this side of her friend before, laughed.

"Oh, I like this kid already!" Misato cackled.

"What we have offered should be more than enough compensation," Gendo said, ignoring his son's last comment. "Now, will you pilot?"

Shinji smirked, "Okay, Boss, I'll pilot. But you still have a major ass kicking coming to you."

"I'll be looking forward to that, if the day ever comes," Gendo smiled, seeing a little of Yui's fire in their child. He turned to the monitor on his right, "Fuyutsuki, we're about to prep the Unit-01 pilot. What's the status of the target?"

"Still silent," his second in command said, "But the regeneration process will be done in moments. We need to hurry. It'll head straight for the city."

"I know that," Gendo said, "After we launch the unit, have all maintenance crews resume work on Unit-00 at once."

"Understood."

"Also see to the other units." Gendo said, "Unit-02 through 04 should nearly be ready for transport."

"The UN won't like giving us so much power," Fuyutsuki reminded him.

"Then you may wish to remind them that we have what the angels are after," Gendo said coldly, glancing at the second in command, "If we aren't fully prepared, then all of mankind will be destroyed."

xXx

As Shinji, now decked out in his "new" plug suit, sat in the familiar confines of the entry plug, he felt the warm presence of Yui somewhere in the depths of the Eva's core.

"_Shinji, what we're about to do is flood the entry plug with a fluid called LCL,_" Ritsuko's voice said over the link, "_There's no need to worry, once your lungs are full of the liquid, your blood will be oxygenated_ directly."

"Understood," Shinji said, and then the orange liquid started filling the cockpit. Shinji didn't even flinch when he started breathing the substance in.

"Doctor Akagi, sync rate is a steadily holding at 88%." Maya said in amazement, "It's almost like he was born for this!"

"I agree," the blonde woman said, a little stunned herself, "This boy is full of surprises. This is the highest untested sync ratio I've ever seen to this date."

Misato smiled, "We may actually have a chance at beating this thing after all." She turned to Aoba, "All systems normal?"

"All green, Major, we are go for launch."

"Ready Shinji?" Misato asked.

"And waiting." Shinji grinned.

"Eva Unit-01, launch!" Misato yelled.

Shinji felt the catapult lurch, shooting him up the tunnel. _This is it. I'll have to get that thing out of the city first. I can't afford to have it hurt anyone like last time. Touji's little sister especially. I'll need him if I'm going to put this world right again! _

The Eva came to a stop as the elevator opened, letting him see the outside. Night, just like the first time around, and right in front of him, lumbering around dumbly, was Sachiel.

"_Okay, Shinji," _Ritsuko's voice came over the communications link, "_You'll need to concentrate for this next part. Think of yourself as the brain of the Eva, and move it like you would move your own body. Try walking first."_

"Walking, huh?" Shinji grinned, "Why not a leap?"

"_What?!"_

True to his word, Unit-01 crouched down, then sprang back up, rolling through the air at the angel. Sachiel raised its right arm, ready to impale the incoming Eva with its lance. But Unit-01 crashed into the creature before it could launch its attack, smashing it to the ground. Shinji didn't give a chance to move, reaching down to grasp the creature's legs.

The stunned personnel at NERV HQ watched in awe as the normally temperamental unit obeyed its pilot's commands. Sachiel was picked up and swung around by the legs, once, twice, and hurled clear across the city.

Shinji directed his Eva to climb one of the buildings to leap after the thrown angel as it careened into the side of one of the small mountains surrounding. "Weapons!" Shinji shouted, "I need a weapon out here!"

"_We're sending up a gatling gun right now," _Misato yelled as another elevator shaft sprung up beside him, "_That's it, take that sucker down!"_

"With pleasure!" Shinji yelled, taking the gun as the vault opened. Sachiel was just getting to its feet when Unit-01 came flying at it again. then it did something that Shinji was not expecting. The eyes of the angel flashed brightly, shooting a beam of energy from them. "Shit!" The beam cut right through Unit-01's right shoulder pylon. The Eva landed with a crash, wasting no time in pulling the trigger of the gatling gun, showering the angel with a hail of bullets.

"Come on!" Shinji ground out as the angel's core was pelted, "Go down already!"

Maya Ibuki, who had been transfixed by the battle, was distracted by a flashing on her monitor. "Doctor Akagi! I'm detecting a high energy reading coming from the target!"

"What?!" Ritsuko yelled, "Another energy attack?"

"No ma'am, this is centered around the core!"

Suddenly all watched as Sachiel leapt on the purple Eva, wrapping around it completely.

"It's gonna self destruct!" Misato yelled.

"AT-Field detected around Unit-01!" Aoba yelled, "It's surrounding the unit!"

"Is the Eva protecting itself?" Ristuko asked.

"Sync rate exceeding one hundred percent!" Maya yelled.

"What?! That's impossible!"

Gendo watched in contentment as the angel sefl destructed, engulfing the Eva, and his son in the explosion that took the shape of a feiry cross in the night sky. "We've done it." He said as Unit-01 appeared out of the flames, completely unharmed, its eyes glowing a pale white in the red glow of the explosion.

Misato sighed in relief, "Confirmation on the pilot?"

"All vitals are normal," Aoba smiled, "He's alive and well."

"Patch us through to Unit-01, please." She said.

"We're linked," Maya smiled.

"Shinji? Can you hear me?" Misato asked.

"_Coming in clear, but dammit my ears are ringing!" _Shinji's response startled a laugh out of the listening personel. "_So how did I do on my first day?" _

Ritsuko stepped in smiling from ear to ear, "You were exceptional, Shinji. Your sync rate with the Eva was beyond anything we expected, and the skills you've shown in handling the Eva has given us all a chance to win this war!"

_"Thanks," _Shinji said, "_Were there any casualties?" _

_"_No," Misato smiled, "You got the angel out of the city before any moajor damage could be done. Which is lucky. I received a report that a little girl was out on the street directly in front of the angel. If you hadn't knocked it down, she would have been crushed."

In his seat, Shinji sighed in relief, "That's good to hear." _Touji's sister is safe for now. _He thought. "I'm returning, now. Can someone point me toward a retrieval route?"

* * *

_**Well, there's chapter one of Rebirth. If you think that this FanFic should continue, then please leave a review, and tell me what you think!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Well, this off to a better start than I thought. Here we have chapter two, and I'll warn y'all right now that this fic has qualities from both the original anime, and Rebuild. So don't be too surprised.**_

_**2: Complications**_

* * *

"Miss Katsuragi, you are a slob," Shinji said promptly after seeing the state of Misato's apartment. As she had done last time, Misato had insisted that the fourteen year old boy stay with her after hearing that commander Ikari had decreed that his son would be living alone. It still touched him that the older woman cared so much to open her home to him after just meeting him...but it still amazed him just how filthy her apartment was!

As it had been, there were beer cans, empty bottles of Sake, and liquer bottles all over. Misato had the descency to look embarrassed, "Well, I've just moved in myself, so the place is a little dirty, I guess."

_If she thought that this is a little dirty, then I never want tos see what she considers filthy, _Shinji thought, sighing internally. After the battle his nerves had caught up with him. The fact that he'd stood his ground with his father had felt incredible. Yes, he was still afraid of him, but to see that the man had given ground, and even complimented him on his attitude staggered him. Thankfully, when the recovery team had found him, they counted his metal state as coming down from an adrenaline rush from the battle.

Physically and mentally, he was exhausted. He'd managed to avoid the confrontation with his father at the elevator by dragging his feet so that they would miss him. Misato hadn't thought anything of since he'd complain he was tired. Now he groaned at the task ahead of him; cleaning his roomate's mess up. Which he did rather quickly, much to Misato's amazement, filling trash bag after trash bag with bottles, cans, and old instant ramen, and curry bowls.

It was during this little purge that Shinji reunited with Misato's beloved pet, Penpen, the warm-water penguin. Once again, Shinji was startled by the bird, distracted as he was by his task. Penpen had been in the bathroom enjoying a hot bath, and come out to investigate the racket that Shinji was making. Though it wasn't his appearance that startled the pilot, but the fact that Penpen was down right annoyed by the noisy stranger, and deliver and strong peck to an unfortunate Shinji as the boy was crouched over, and filling yet another bag.

"I can't believe there's so much trash," Shinji had grumbled to no one in particular while Misato watched him work. The clinking of bottles and cans making so much noise that both found it hard to hear anything else. Penpen chose this moment to come out of the bath, making a beeline for his refrigerator. Unfortunately his door was blocked by more than a few garbage bags, and squawked in alarm as another came flying at him.

Penpen didn't take to kindly to that, and honed in on his attacker, said attack being an unsuspecting house cleaner. Misato had seen that look on the bird's face before and snickered as her pet advance on her new roommate.

"What's so funny?" Shinji asked, not bothering to look over his shoulder. Misato didn't answer because Penpen lunged at him right there and then, driving him beak home right in Shinji's rear end.

"_Dyayayayayaya_!" Misato nearly fell out of her chair when Shinji screamed. She laughed herself silly while the poor boy tried to dislodge the irate bird.

"Oh, hahaha, Shinji, I forgot to mention I had a pet!" Misato chuckled.

"I can see that!" Shinji roared, "And I'm seeing penguin fricassee if he doesn't let go!"

"Don't you dare!" Misato shouted in mock horror, "He's family!"

"Wark!" Penpen squawked, releasing the pilot, inadvertently sending the bird flying right into the arms of his mistress. Misato giggled as she caught him, "Good boy, saying hello to our new friend!"

"If that's how he says hello," Shinji growled, nursing his sore backside, "Then it's no wonder you have so few guests!"

xXx

Later that evening, as Shinji lay in bed, thinking back over the day he had relived. Tomorrow would be somewhat easier, seeing as he would start school again. He would see Touji and Kensuke again, and he would probably meet Rei again. That was something he needed to bring up with his father. Half-angel or not, after being told that she was his biological sister, how was he supposed to ignore her?

"Shinji?" Misato said from his door, "I'm coming in."

"Come in," Shinji said.

His door slid open, revealing Misato standing there, still damp from her bath, clad in nothing but a towel. _Thank you, Abraham, _Shinji thought, blushing at the sight of the woman.

Misato was smiling at him, taking no notice of his flustered look. "You did very good out there, Shinji. You helped save a lot of lives, and you should be proud of that."

Shinji returned the smile, "Thanks, Misato, that means a lot." He looked away for a moment, "I just wish my dad would say something like that to me." At this, Misato frowned. This wasn't the boy she'd come to know through the day. Shinji realized that he'd let his mask slip just a little, but it didn't matter, surely he was allowed to be weak at sometimes instead of all the time like he had been in the past.

"He'll come around," she said, though she really didn't believe that he would.

Shinji looked back at her, the smile returning to his face. "I hope so," he said, "I may hate him, but I really want him to look at me and maybe even be proud of me someday."

A small spike of sadness hit her, knowing that the commander's cold exterior was more than just skin deep. "I'm sure he will, you just have to make him see it."

Shinji nodded, "That means I have to be the best pilot." _I'll make sure that Third Impact never happens. _He thought as Misato closed the door. _There's thirteen Eva units in all, but I know that Units 04 and 05 never made it out of their production sites, and Unit 03 could be taken over by an angel if we don't do something about that. But the others were all scrapped because Seele greenlit the MPE's. _

Shinji rolled over in his bed, _Then I'll have to deal with Asuka, and the stupid superiority complex of her's. _He sighed, "How can someone _that_ cute be such a pain in the ass?"

_As easy as you can talk to me. _Shinji started, and sat up, "Abraham?"

_Yes, who else were you expecting? Don't answer that, _the angel said just as Shinji opened his mouth to reply, _Just lean back and go to sleep so that I can bring you to where I am. _

"And where is that?" Shinji asked, lying back and closing his eyes. He suddenly felt himself being drawn up as if he were being lifted from all around him by numerous hands, raising him higher.

"Here of course," Abraham's voice said, clearer than before, "Which is where I always am."

Shinji opened his eyes and found himself in what looked to be a forest with mist rising around his feet and legs. "What the hell?"

He heard a chuckling behind him, and turned to see Abraham standing there with his arms spread, "Welcome to the world between the world of Lilin and the next, Shinji Ikari."

Shinji raised his eyebrow at him, "What do you mean? I'm dreaming aren't I?"

Abraham nodded, "Well, technically you are, at least your body is, but your soul, thanks to me, is with me in this world." He said, gesturing to the ground they were standing on, "Think of this as the path between life and death. In a normal case when a person's time has come, they would either chose to go on to the next life, or, if they still have time left on Earth, turn back around return to their bodies and continue living."

Shinji scratched his head, "I guess that makes more sense...but why did you call me here? I don't remember praying yet?"

"Ahem," the angel grinned, "Does _thank you Abraham _ring a bell?"

Shinji blushed, "That counts?"

"It does," he smiled, "And don't worry, it's no sin to admire a woman's body. Lust only pertains to those that take more than one woman, and has no emotional ties to any of them. Lust relates purely to sex."

"C-can we discuss that later?" Shinji asked, "I thought you said something about a blessing?"

Abraham chuckled, "You are right, Brother. But something has been brought to my attention that disturbs me."

Shinji looked worried, "I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

"No, no, not you," he said with a wave of his hand, "While you were fighting Sachiel, I found out that some unknown angels of destruction have been born unto this world."

"What does that mean?" Shinji asked, feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

Abraham sighed, "It means that you'll possibly have more battles to fight. For example, you remember the angel that attacked the _Over the Rainbow_ battleship that carried Unit 02, and Adam's embryo?"

"Yeah, how could I forget it?" Shinji asked, remembering his first meeting with the fiery red-head, Asuka. "What about it?"

"Well, somehow, another angel has appeared, and it will attack along side Gaghiel." Abraham said, shaking his head, "I've no idea how this came about!"

"What do you mean you have no idea?" Shinji asked a little stumped, "I mean aren't angels supposed to be all-knowing beings?"

The angel shook his head, "Even I can't keep track of these things. For all I know this new angel could very well be artificial, and sent by Seele. Also there is an angel that takes the form of the sixteenth, but it only possesses the body of another, unlike Armisael, who would bring back every single one of her fallen brothers and sisters."

"That's the one that Ayanami died to destroy," the boy said, feeling useless that he hadn't been able to save her back then. "I won't let that happen again."

"Agreed," Abraham nodded, "It would be better to let her enter the Eva and have your sister eject the entry plug or have someone remove it by force if necessary." He sighed, "But no matter how I look at this new situation, it's not as good as I'd hoped. You have more battles ahead of you than before."

Shinji looked up defiantly, "I didn't come back just so I could go back to being the coward I used to be. I can handle anything the angels or Seele throws at me this time!"

Abraham clapped his hands together, "That's the spirit! Now, on to the matter at hand! You, as a Lilin can't use your AT-Field. But since you've long since awoken, but remain human, I can grant you the use of some of your other mental abilities."

"Meaning?"

"Well, you don't think we angels are limited to only an AT-Field, do you?" Abraham laughed, "No, as seen by some of my siblings, we can use our minds in many different ways that you Lilin would call psychic powers. For example, my sister Arael, used her powers to enter the mind of miss Asuka Sohryu, in hopes of understanding the human mind."

Shinji still looked confused, "You're...goind to make me able to read minds?"

"No, not quite," the angel said, "But I will give you some small abilities that will grow more powerful, such as ESP, or the ability to move objects with a little focus of your mind. A powerful weapon if used right. But I'm betting you're more interested in the power of your Eva."

"You're going to make Unit 01 more powerful?" Shinji asked in disbelief. "It's already strong enough don't you think?"

"Not quite, but you misunderstood me," Abraham said, "As I understand it, the Eva are a scaled down version of Adam, and have every possiblity of becoming a pseudo Adam if the situation is too much of a strain on the pilot or if they unite their cores with an angel's. In the battle with Bardiel, you unlocked a power within the Eva that nearly made it invincible to most angels, but not invulnerable by any standards."

Shinji nodded, remembering bits and pieces of that battle, particularly when Unit 01 had sent a powerful AT-Field slicing toward the angel and proceeded to eat it. "So you're going to give me better control over its AT-Field?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," he nodded, "But the Eva are much stronger than you think, by the time that battle comes, you may have already learned of those abilities."

Shinji smiled in understanding, "Okay, I think I'm ready."

"Good," the angel said brightly, holding out his hand, "It's already been some hours in the real world, so you should be getting back now, or you'll be late for school."

Shinji nodded and reached for his hand once again. The moment he grasped his hand, a small pin point of pain erupted in the back of his skull, and a blinding flash of light sent him on his way back to his body. "And if you happen to run into Tabris, tell him that Abraham says hello!"

xXx

Shinji bolted up in his bed as he came awake clutching his head. "Damn! What a way to wake up!"

"Shinji?" Misato's voice yelled from the other room, "Are you alright?"

"Fine!" Shinji yelled gently, "Just bumped my head!"

"Oh, be careful then," she yelled, "Are you making breakfast today?"

"I'm certainly not eating that instant slop you call food," he grumbled, recalling last night's diner.

"What was that?" Misato asked, finally poking her head in his room.

"I said I'd start as soon as I got dressed," Shinji grinned, kicking out of the sheets, then gave his purple-haired guardian a look, "No beer for breakfast."

"What?" Misato yelped, "Don't you know traditional Japanese breakfasts consist of miso soup, grilled fish, rice and a little Sake?"

"What's wrong with coffee?" Shinji asked, digging into his drawer for fresh clothes, "And could you turn around? You promised Ritsuko that you wouldn't make any passes, so I assume that means no ogling either."

"Pfft, you're no fun," she sniffed, but turned around anyway, "And I appreciate that you're trying to get me in a healthy eating habit, but it's a little too late for me."

Shinji looked ack over his shoulder with a sad smile, "It's never too late, Misato."

A few minutes later, Shinji treated Misato to a practiced home cooked meal, even making her drink coffee instead of her Yabisu beer. As he'd expected she bolted everything down like she was starving, and it was funny in a way that Shinji had actually missed it. And it was during this that he discovered his gift from Abraham. As he was reaching for the Soy sauce, the little bottle, unnoticed by Misato, slid right into his grasp.

It took all of his effort for Shinji not to yelp as the bottle touched his hand. _This must be what Abraham was talking about! _He thought, trying to keep calm and let go of the bottle. _I'll have to be careful with this from now on. I don't need Dad or Ritsuko trying to dissect me. _

xXx

Gendo Ikari sat in his office, surrounded by five black pillars with varying different neon colors, each one sporting seven eyes in the center.

"I can assume that, by your visit, something has gone wrong?" Gendo asked.

"Not wrong," said number three, "We've just taken notice of your son, this Third Child. He seems to be exceptional at piloting the Eva."

"Yes, indeed he shows great promise," number five said, "But this brings up the question; how did he become so talented?"

"That is a good question," number two said, "Have you been training this boy in secrecy, Ikari?"

"I have not," Gendo said truthfully, "It truly astounded me when I saw him fight yesterday. I hadn't seen him in ten years, and I see a new child in front of me. This is not the spoiled little cry baby I left behind."

"Be that as it may," number one said, "This boy could prove to be invaluable to us. As Unit 01's pilot, he will be the catalyst when the time comes. And with the production of Units 03 through 06 underway, we have already chose the Fourth and Fifth pilots."

"Oh?" Gendo said in interest, "I hadn't heard of the Mark 06's construction. How's that coming?"

"Fairly well," number two said, "It's being constructed on the moon base to save time and man power. As for the other units, they are being constructed by the neighboring countries that wish to aid in combatting the angels."

"That is good to know," Gendo said, "When will we be meeting these two new pilots?"

"The fourth Child is of our choosing, and is stationed on the moon base with the Mark 06," number five said, "As for the Fifth, she is at the Bethany base with Unit 05. It's interesting, though, we recently found an angel frozen in the ice down there."

"Alive?" Gendo was surprised.

"Barely at the time," number one said, "We've had the personnel strip the creature down to the bones for study, but the beast refuses to die."

"Aren't you worried the creature could escape?" He asked.

"It is a possibility," number one said, "But with a pilot and an Eva on base, there is little worry that the creature would live long after escaping."

"I suppose that is true," Gendo said, "Also I would like to ask the progress for the replacement unit for Unit 01."

"If you mean Unit 13, then the production of this new Eva is doing better, and should be ready within a few months." Number one said with a hint of a smile in his voice. "I must say that even I am impressed with this newest unit. Not even Unit 09 can compare with it."

"I'm happy to hear that," Gendo said with small smile, "It will make the perfect vessel when the time comes."

"Yes, and in the mean time we will hope that the Third's prowess in battle continues," number one said, "Also it would be wise to start choosing pilots for the additional units soon. With this new discovery of this strange angel, we no longer know how many angels there actually are. We can not allow them to reach Central Dogma before the time of awakening."

"I understand," Gendo said, watching as the pillars disappeared one by one until he was alone again, "Nothing will stop me from seing my Yui again."

xXx

School was exactly as Shinji remembered. When he entered the classroom, there was a sudden buzz of gossip around him. But his eyes honed in on two familiar boys near the back. Touji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida were looking directly at him as he entered. Touji with mixed emotions, while Kensuke looked at him with wonder and awe.

One of the girls that Shinji didn't remember all that well came right up to him, disturbingly close for the teen. "Hey there, you must be the new transfer student?"

"That's right." Shinji said, a small amount of nervousness creeping into his voice, though he had a feeling he knew what was coming next. _But I think I liked it better when they asked me over the computer. _Shinji thought.

"Then you must have at least heard of that giant robot that fought in the city the other day?" She asked, catching the other students attention.

"If you're asking about whether or not I'm the pilot, then yes, I am," he reached into his pocket and pulled out his NERV ID card, "Shinji Ikari, pilot of Evangelion Unit 01, at your service."

As expected the class erupted with excitement the moment he finished his sentence. Shinji somewhat regretted outing himself so soon, but he figured the sooner he got it over with the sooner he could forget about it.

But his attention was brought back to to the two boys as Touji pushed his way toward him with Kensuke right behind him.

"Hey, you said you're the pilot of that robot, right?" Touji asked, when Shinji nodded, the darker skinned boy bowed a little, "My sister and I were nearly caught in that fight. That monster was about to step on us when your robot knocked it away from us. So thanks, you really saved us."

Shinji sighed in relief, "That's great, I'd heard there weren't any casualties from the battle, but it's still good to hear someone say that."

"I meant it," Touji said, smiling and extending his hand, "I owe you one."

Shinji was quick to shake his hand, "I don't pilot that thing just to be a hero, you know."

Kensuke nosed his way in, "I don't see why not! I mean being the pilot of such a cool robot must be the best thing ever!" All the girls suddenly shied away from the gun nut, "You gotta tell all about that thing!"

Shinji smirked, "Trust me, its way different from what it looks like from the spectator's seat. That angel, the monster, blew itself up trying to kill me."

"Cool, cool, cool!" Kensuke shouted, "That thing's armor must be off the charts!"

Shinji was about to say something else when he felt a nudge from behind him. "Pilot Ikari." Shinji stiffened, and turned to find to object of his worries. Rei Ayanami, her right arm and left eye covered in bandages. "There's an emergency. We're ordered to report to NERV HQ."

"Right," Shinji said, "I'll be right behind you, Sis." The girl's eyes widened a little at this, and Shinji immediately wanted to bite off his tongue. "Go, I'll explain later." He gave her a little nudge and sent her on ahead.

_Well, that could have gone better, _he thought, _Now she'll probably run off and ask Dad what I might have meant! _

xXx

_"Shinji, we're ready to launch here," _Misato said over the monitor.

"I'm ready on my end," Shinji said, "What's my weapon?"

"_Since we don't know this angel's abilities yet, we're going with the gatling gun, but we'll send up whatever you may need if that doesn't work." _

_Oh, trust me, this won't work,_ Shinji thought, but telling them that might have raised more than a few suspiscions. Surprisingly, Rei hadn't said a word to him since their meeting at the school, which worried him. why hadn't she said anything?

"_Shinji,"_ Ristuko said, "_Ayanami wants to speak with you. I have a private line from her. Wanna take it?" _

"Wha? Oh, sure, but what does she wanna - "

"_Talk to her about it_," the blonde said, patching through.

"Um, Ayanami?"

_"Pilot Ikari,_" Rei's voice said, "_I remember what you called me earlier today, and wanted to find out for myself." _

Shinji nodded, "What did you find?"

"_Blood work files and my birth records,"_ he heard her say, sounding a little breathless, "_My father is a mystery, but the DNA from my mother matches that of one Yui Ayanami, who later married Gendo Ikari...you are my sibling, Pilot Ikari." _

Shinji smirked, "Oh what you must have had to go through to get that." He shook his head, "Since you know, now, why don't you just call me Shinji like everyone else does?"

"_If that is what you wish...Shinji_." She said, and Shinji smiled. "_Good luck in your battle, Shinji." _

"Thanks, Rei, I think I'm going to need it."

_Shinji! _

_Ack! Abraham?!_

_Yes, and I don't have much time before the angel attacks so please listen to me! You must completely destroy this angel! Core and all, make sure nothing remains!_

Back in the NERV control center, Maya was picking up something strange coming from inside the Eva. "Pilot's brain waves seem to be fluctuating."

Ritsuko came over to check the reading her apprentice was getting, "Hm, this looks like a little stress. Nothing to worry about, really, but I'll have Misato check on him one more time before we send him up."

_So you're telling me that if I just leave the core intact, Dad'll send it off to study the S2 engine?_

_Resulting in the destruction of another NERV branch, and Unit 04. Yes, you are correct. This Unit will play a vital role in this new war as it will belong to one your friends. _

Shinji groaned, "Just what I need."

"_Shinji_?" Misato said, startling him, "_You okay down there_?"

"Yeah, just a headache," he said truthfully, "Let's get this thing over with, I need an asprin."

"Okay then," Misato smiled and turned to Ritsuko, "Ready for launch!"

"Launching Eva Unit 01!"

* * *

_**Not much action in this chapter, lot's of talking, some foreshadowing, and a prelude to whats to come. Next time is the battle with Shamshel, and the unveiling of what Shinji can do with Unit 01. So until next time, Eva fans, peace out!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Well, here I am again, folks. Not much feedback from the last chapter but hopefully this one will get better attention. As I said, this story contains contents from the Rebuild movie series, and the original anime, so we'll see a few different things happening. Now on with the show!**_

_**3: Welcome to NERV**_

* * *

The catapult shot Shinji and his Eva to the surface with a jarring start as usual, but Shinji had it in his mind now that he had to completely annihilate Shamshel, or lose another Eva. And then there was Touji and Kensuke, who he knew would be watching the battle from the hill-side, so once again, he had to keep the angel away from them.

As the Eva came to a thundering halt, and the restraining bolts were released he saw the vault with his weapon open up. He knew it wouldn't work, but he needed to at least try.

Across the city, sitting on the side of a hill just below a shrine, Kensuke and Touji were watching in awe of the purple giant as it grasped the weapon from the vault.

"This is so great!" Kensuke cried, aiming a video camera at the machine, "I still don't get why he doesn't play the part of the hero when he fights. I mean, what could be so bad about it?"

Touji shrugged, "Maybe he doesn't like to fight?" He leaned over a bush to get a better view of the Eva, and noticed something. "Hey, what the hell is that?" Kensuke whipped around and trained his camera on the approaching object. It was was long and head a heart-shaped head and bloody red the entire length of the body except for the underside which looked pink with what looked like ribs encircling a red sphere in the center.

"Oh, man!" Kensuke said, "That's gotta be his target!"

"You gotta be kiddin'!" Touji's voice wavered, "That thing's huge!"

"Big robot for a big monster," Kensuke reasoned, keeping his camera on the advancing beast.

_"Shinji, you have permission to engage the target,_" Misato said of the link, "_Be careful, though, we still don't know what this thing can do yet."_

"Roger," Shnji said, and stepped out from behind his building, pulling the trigger on the gatling gun and firing a short spray of bullets instead of going all out on the thing, then stepped back to put some distance between his Eva and the angel.

Shamshel advanced, not bothered at all by the bullets hitting it. Shinji had just started another volley as the angel let its whips uncoil and sent them slicing through the gun, leaving him unarmed.

Unit 01 jumped back as the whips came at it again, keeping the umbilical cable well out of their reach. "Misato, the gun didn't work, I need something else!"

"_We're going to sent up a positron rifle, just be careful with it, it's meant for long-range combat, so the blasting power of the beam will be powerful!" _

"Understood, just hurry!" Shinji yelled, ducking under another whip-lash.

_Shinji, you need to use the Eva's power_! Abraham shouted, _The rifle won't get there in time! _

"Great," muttered Shinji, "Misato, I'm raising the AT-Field to max!"

"_Shinji, don't! The strain will be too much!" _

"No choice!" Shinji roared, letting his mind begin to merge with the Eva, "I just have to take the chance! Keep me posted on the percentage!"

After that, the NERV personnel were all scrambling about as the sync rate for Shinji started to rise drastically. "Doctor Akagi, Eva Unit 01 is now at one hundred and fifty percent!"

"Shinji, slow down!" Maya cried, "You'll kill yourself at this rate!"

_"As long as the angel is destroyed, then that's all I need!"_ Shinji roared over the link, the strain in his voice obvious.

"Are there any signs of contamination yet?!" Ritsuko yelled, checking the heart monitor for the pilot.

"None yet, but the sync rate keeps climbing!" Aoba yelled.

"Shinji, please stop!" Misato cried, "Destroying this angel isn't worth destroying your humanity!"

On the screen, the neon green parts of Unit 01's armor began to glow brighter. "_Thanks for the concern, Misato, but that's the whole reason I pilot this thing, you know?_" Shinji's voice crackled, "_The pay's great, yeah, but now I just wanna protect the one's I care about...including that bastard of a father I have._"

Maya gasped back tears as she heard this from the boy, then looked over at her mentor, "Sync rate is leveling out at three hundred, ma'am."

Back with Shinji, his whole body felt heated up with the effort to sync with the Eva. His eyes were no longer the grey-blue hues they had been, but a glowing blood-red. "This is it!" He growled, "Now it's time to show them what we can do!"

With that, Unit 01 snapped open its mouth and let out a guttural roar, the AT-Field expanding around the giant, just as Shamshel descended on them again. The AT-Field whips lashed at the Eva, only to meet the solid form of the AT-Field. The Eva's eye glowed red, just like the pilot's as Shinji directed the machine to his will.

The pulsing orange shield boiled out, and slammed into the angel, sending it careening onto the streets. The purple Eva was after it in a second, the field folding around its arms forming giant claws around the fingers as it went on the attack. Shamshel didn't waste any time in retaliating, and shot the whip like appendages at the Eva's chest.

Shinji didn't react fast enough, or else he would have focused his shield on the spot, but the whips impaled the chest area near the core and entry plug, missing both by just inches as the Eva bore down on the fallen angel. With the AT-Field claws Shinji tore into the angel with a monstrous shout that could have rivaled his Eva's roar, sending sprays of blood in all directions in his attempts to get at the angels core.

Shamshel rammed into the Eva with its head, forcing it back, and knocking the wind out of Shnji. "Oh no you don't!" Growled Shinji, Grabbing the angel's head, "You're dead!"

With one hand, Shinji had the Eva lift the angel up while the other hand came around and plunged it's claws into the core, and expanding the AT-Field out, completely destroying it. Shamshel slumped over just before the body started to bulge and bubble in a sickening way.

"_Shinji, get out of there, it's gonna blow_!" Misato screamed.

"Shit!" Shinji leapt away, forcing his AT-Field in front of him as the angel exploded. The force of the blast, with the Eva being so close to the angel, sent the unfortunate teen flying toward the hill side where Kensuke and Touji had been watching the battle. But the site of the massive humanoid careening toward them cause both of them to squawk in alarm and dive for cover as the Eva crashed back down to earth.

Shinji's head smashed into the console, opening up a gash on his forehead, darkening the LCL with the red coloring, and dazing the boy into unconsciousness. Meanwhile, Misato was going insane with worry for her charge's safety.

"Get a recovery team out there, now!" Misato roared, "Eject entry plug and purge LCL, I need varified life signs on the pilot!"

Maya turned around with small smile and a trickle of tears down her face, "Pulse, respiration, and EEG are weak, but steady. He'll survive, Major."

Misato sighed in relief, "Thank God, that could have been bad." Then she growled, "Wait til I get my hands on that little punk!"

Back on the hill, Touji and Kensuke watched as the entry plug ejected, and LCL started spraying out.

"Think he's okay?" Touji asked, "That was a hell of a blast!"

"Not sure, but I know a way to find out!" Kensuke cried and made a beeline toward the downed Eva. Touji groaned, "You just wanna get a look at that damned robot." But he followed after him anyway, just as curious, but wanting to make sure the pilot was still alive. Kensuke was already climbing up the mech's shoulder making his way to the plug. Touji scrambled after him, finding it harder to find purchase on the slippery armor of the Eva.

"Yeowch!" Touji looked up in alarm and saw Kensuke dancing around and shaking his hands like he'd just been burned. "God dammit that thing is hot!" He yelled, blowing on his reddening fingers and palms. "Hey, Touji, don't touch the hatch, it's super hot!"

"Yeah, yeah," Touji grouched, and started pulling his blazer off, and wrapped it around his hands, "One side, gun nerd, this'll do the trick." Touji advanced on the hatch and gripped the handles, giving them a twist while the hot metal started filtering through his jacket.

By the time he had the hatch open, his hands were already sore from the heat, and thought about apologizing to Kensuke for making fun of him about it. The hatch popped open, nearly striking him in the chin, and they found Shinji lying there in his cockpit with the blood from his wound streaming down his face.

"Fuck, he is hurt!" Touji roared, grabbing the boy's arm and hauling him out. Kensuke slid down the Eva first to catch Shinji as Touji lowered him down, then took hi swhite school shirt off and ripped a few pieces into bandages. The cut wasn't all that bad once he got it cleaned out, but it continued to bleed. Touji was on the verge of panic, but Kensuke knew better. Head wounds bled profusely until a clot formed to stop the bleeding, causing a large swell around the wound.

Both boys had him wrapped up tight by the time the recovery team arrive. But upon seeing the two boys with the pilot, their guns left their holsters and were trained on them. Now Kensuke panicked.

"W-wait, don't shoot!" Touji yelled, "We were just helping him! He was bleeding all over himself!"

Luckily for them, the major had tagged along for the ride, as she came rushing forward to the pilot's prone figure. "What happened to him?! Why is he bandaged up?"

"He must have hit his head when the robot landed," Kensuke pipped up shakily, "I'm sorry if we're not supposed to be here, or see this thing, but we just wanted to see our friend in action."

Misato looked down at the boys, questioning them with her eyes, but nodded, "Alright, but we'll have to bring you two in for debriefing. Realize that what you've seen could mean your execution - "

"No," they heard Shinji rasp. All three whirled around to see him looking up at them with one eye open, "T-they're m-my friends, Misato...The ones that I want to protect...and they could be pilots...I wanted to bring t-them in for a s-sync test."

"These two?" Misatoo asked, looking back at the two boys, "Shinji, this doesn't seem likely, that both of these kids could be pilots like you."

"Heh," Shinji chuckled weakly, "If I'm wrong, then you can cut my pay in half for a solid month."

Misato gaped at him, then sighed in defeat, "Alright, Shinji, we'll bring them in. I'll have Ritsuko set up the test, but you'd better hope you're right."

Shinji just grinned at her before drifting back to unconsciousness.

xXx

Shinji was rushed to the examination room to have his wound patched up, and to be checked for any contamination from the abnormally high sync ratio he'd initiated. To Ritsuko's surprise, he was healthy except for the blood loss from his head.

As for Touji and Kensuke, Ritsuko had prepared a synchronization test for both of them on compatibility with Unit 00. Again, she was surprised to find that Touji had a forty-five percent sync with the unit, while Kensuke managed a solid forty. Both were very good for first time sync tests.

Misato was more than a little stunned by all this, but nothing would be said until Ritsuko ran them both through the Marduk system. Until then, they were on standby for further notice, and being detained.

xXx

Shinji opened his eyes to find himself in a vaguely familiar forest with mist swirling around his body. He sat up and looked around, and found himself staring at Abraham sitting on a stump, smiling cheerfully.

"It was good of you to come, Brother." He said, "I must admit that I was worried for a little while. You've een lying here for some time." Shinji blinked in confusion, shaking his head.

"Why am I here again?" Shinji asked, "I don't remember calling out to you."

Abraham chuckled, "Well, the truth of the matter is that you came here on your own." He touched a finger to his skull, "That blow to the head nearly turned your brain to jelly. Any harder, and even I couldn't give you the choice of going back again. Even angels like us can be killed."

Shinji sighed, "I guess I really am still an angel, then?" Abraham nodded, "But I thought you were turning me back into a human?"

Abraham waved that off, "That'll happen over a little more time, though you'll still have your mental powers, you will be human again soon." The angel smiled then, "Now, as you know I have to offer you the choice of moving on to the next life, or going back to your old one, though I think I already know the answer."

Shinji nodded, "You're right, I still need to go back and help everyone. My job's not done yet."

"Plus you have to watch out for Touji and Kensuke now as they are destined to be pilots after this last battle." Abraham smiled happily, "I must say that was quite creative of you to use the AT-Field like that. I'm impressed!"

"Glad you liked it," Shinji said, getting to his feet, "Sorry, but I think I should get going."

Abraham nodded and jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "You'll need to go that way if you want to go back to your body." Shinji nodded once again, and started off down the misty path before Abraham stopped him, "And be wary of the next angel, Shinji. Ramiel appears to have grown stronger now for some reason. He will not be as easily defeated this time. He will arrive in one month. But by this time, Unit 04 should be ready, and Unit 00 will be repaired. You will have enough power to back you up."

Shinji smiled, "Thanks, Abraham, I won't let you down."

"Just remember to practice with that new power of yours," Abraham reminded him, "But I'd stay out of sight when you do. You were right when you thought your father and the good doctor may dissect you."

Shinji smiled nervously as he continued down the misty path, and soon everything went dark again.

xXx

Again, Shinji opened his eyes and found himself staring at a now familiar ceiling, groaning as a sharp pain in his head started throbbing. "Argh," he groaned, sitting up, "I do not want to do that again."

"That would be a wise decision, Pilot Ikari."

Shinji jumped at the sound of Rei's voice beside him, and he found her there with a small book in her hands, read half-way through. "Rei? How long have you been here?"

"Since doctor Akagi allowed visitors." She said, closing her book.

"Then how long have I been out?" Shinji asked.

"A full thirty-six hours," Rei said, "Many of the NERV personnel were worried about you when the sync rate of Unit 01 started rising. Major Katsuragi also mentioned something about strangling you for being so reckless."

Shinji laughed nervously, "I guess that's what I get." He sighed and sank back into the bed, "What about the two guys that found me? What happened to them?"

"They are under observation for the time being until the Marduk report comes through." She said dully, "Though I do not see the sense in putting the data through since they already have fairly descent sync ratios with my Unit 00."

Shinji smiled, "Then they'll be fine?" She nodded, "That's great. At least now you and I won't be fighting alone."

Rei, for the most part, looked as stoic as usual, but he noticed that a slight glimmer in her eye that told him that she was bursting with unanswered questions.

"Ikari - "

Shinji reached out and touched her hand, "Didn't I tell you to call me Shinji?" He asked gently, "After all, even if it's just on Mom's side, we are brother and sister."

That threw her for a second, unfamiliar as she was with human touch save for the commander and Ritsuko, whose touch were normally cold, and meaningless to her. But Shinji's touch was warm, and pleasant. _Is this what having a brother feels like?_ She wondered. "Shinji, how did you find out about our mother?"

Shinji's lip quirked, "A little angel told me."

Rei frowned, "That is not an answer, Shinji."

He smiled then, "Yes it is," he said, "It's my answer." He watched her normally emotionless face drop into something he thought he'd never see. Rei started pouting

"My...brother is so mean to me," she said sadly, and the boy turned a light shade of red. _Is she actually trying to tease me?! _

"Rei, c'mon, I'm not being mean," he said, raising himself back up, "It's just going to be a while before I can tell you how I learned about it."

Rei looked at him, a small tint of pink on her cheeks, "But you will tell me?"

He smiled and held out his right hand, extending his pinky, "I promise." Rei looked at his hand curiously, but mimicked the action, and was surprised when Shinji wrapped his finger around her's and shook it. "And if I break my promise, I'll swallow a thousand needles."

"But would that not cause you pain?" Rei asked, clearly not comprehending the gesture.

"All the more reason for me to keep the promise, right?" He asked, before turning his head toward the door, hearing a loud racket coming down the hall. "Hehe, that's gotta be either Touji, or Misato."

Rei nodded, "I suspect the later, Shinji as Suzuhara is currently meeting with Doctor Akagi."

Shinji sighed, "Then I'm either in for a lecture...or a longer stay in the hospital."

Rei tilted her head slightly to the side, "I do not think that the major will risk further injury to you, since Unit 00 is still being repaired."

The door slammed open. "SHINJI IKARI!" Misato roared.

Shinji cringed, "Wanna bet, Rei?"

A small ghost of a smile appeared on her face, "I believe I would lose."

xXx

Commander Ikari along with vice commander Fuyutsuki looked over the files that Ritsuko had given them. "And these two are the Third's classmates?" Gendo asked the blonde.

"Yes," she said, "Both of them had fairly descent sync rates with Unit 00, but I decided against running a test with Unit 01 since its so temperamental." She took a cigarrette out of her pocket and lit it, "As you can see, the Marduke report states that this Touji Suzuhara would be most compatible with Unit 03, while Kensuke Aida would suite Unit 04." She smiled, blowing out a puff of smoke, "When both units are complete, their pilots will be waiting."

"So it would seem," Gendo said tonelessly, "And it was pilot Ikari that fingered them out as potential pilots?"

"He did," Ritsuko said, nodding, "But I think it more to save them from the firing squad than anything else."

Gendo nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, you could be right. Either way, these two boys are now back up pilots until their units arrive. We've already had clearance for unit 02 to be sent over to us by sea, I'll just have another cargo ship pick up the other two units as well, but it'll take a while longer."

Fuyutsuki frowned, "Why not have them flown over?"

Unknown to the three humans, a certain angel had entered the room, and now stood behind the commander. He leaned over his shoulder and whispered, _No, I believe that the cargo ships would be safer. Most of the angels we've seen so far have had the ability to fly. I don't want to risk the safety of the new units. _

_"_No, I believe that the cargo ships would be safer. Most of the angels we've seen so far have had the ability to fly. I don't want to risk the safety of the new units." The commander repeated stoically, not knowing he was being persuaded.

"That does make sense," Ritsuko amended, "Alright, I'll tell Misato to get those two on the payroll, as Shinji would say."

Gendo resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "That boy has certainly grown into plucky character."

Fuyutsuki chuckled, "Like father like son."

"Really?" Gendo asked, "I see more of his mother in him than I do myself."

Smiling to himself, Abraham drifted out of the room, passing through the wall as he went. "_Well, that's one small disaster averted." _He said, "_But I doubt that Bardiel will sit idly by and simply wait for a host."_

* * *

_**Well, here's chapter three, not my best work, I'm afraid, but we'll get into the better parts once Ramiel is out of the way. Then things are going to get crazy. And thanks to all that reviewed and asked that this story be kept going. Also the pairing for this story is open, but it will not be a harem, so with the exception of Rei, the romantic side of the story is open. Let me know which girl you'd like to see! **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Things are looking up for this story, as for the vote? Asuke Langely Shikinami has won due to the reviews you all sent in. So we'll see where that goes when Unit 02 arrives, in the mean time, please enjoy this little chapter before Ramiel shows up.**_

_**4: Ramiel Approaches**_

* * *

"You can't be serious," Shinji said, looking at Rei's apartment. As it had before, Rei's apartment was a decrepid, rundown apartment complex just partially demolished. Looking back on it, Shinji wondered just how Rei ended up in such a place in the long run.

"Yes, this is where I live," the girl said in her normally emotionless tone. Keeping his act up, or trying to, Shinji shook his head. He'd never understand why she lived in such a desolate place.

"You do realize that you can live in a better apartment?" He said, taking out his NERV ID, "These things keep us pretty well financed. More than enough to keep you in comfort until the angels are gone."

Rei looked at him curiously, "But what purpose would that serve? Commander Ikari said that the bare necessities are needed to survive, such as food, and water and a roof over one's head. This provides those."

"Yes," he sighed, shaking his head again, "But that doesn't mean you have to live in a hovel like this. I live in a nice place, considering I live with a slob, but this? This is a health hazard!"

"My health is always steady if that is your worry, Shinji," she said, "I'm rarely sick except for the times I've been injured inside the Evas."

"That's hardly the point," Shinji said, walking around her apartment, which was devoid of any color, or light, "I don't mean to offend you or anything like that, but this isn't fit for human habitation. Especially since its marked for demolition." He looked at her over his shoulder, "Why don't you come to my complex, and find your own place. That way we'll be closer if you need me or have any questions."

"This would be conveinient," she muttered, "But Major Katsuragi would have to go through a great deal of trouble to allow me to move."

Shinji laughed, "Trust me, if I brought her here, then she'd insist that you come live with us, in our tiny little apartment."

Rei nodded, "I would find that agreeable. Could you arrage it?"

"Huh?"

xXx

"And that's what she said," Shinji explained some hours later to a stunned Misato, after talking things out with Rei, "She'd like to live here with us since it's easier than going through all the red tape of getting her own apartment."

Misato, for her part, took in the state of the complex in front of her, seeing the half-destroyed buildings, and heavy equipment. She'd heard that Rei lived alone, but had no idea of the living conditions themselves. She'd taken Shinji in because she had felt pity for him when the commander refused to take the boy himself. Now she viewed him as a sort of surrogate son.

With Rei, things were slightly different. She knew the girl well enough to see that the commander had imprinted it into the girl to be obedient to a deadly fault. If the man told her to live somewhere like this, then she would, without question.

"Misato?" Shinji said, bring her out of her thoughts, "What do you think?"

Misato looked down at the boy, sighing, "I admit that these conditions are horrible, but the commander might not like this. It's one thing that you're living with me, but Rei's a different story. The commander and Ritsuko always seemed to have her coming in for some sort of test."

_No kidding, _Shinji thought, _The dummy plug system is something I'd like to avoid this time. _"She's still just a fourteen year old girl," he pointed out, "living here is dangerous to both her health and her body. What if some maniac decides to follow her home one evening and take advantage of her?"

Misato flinched, "You have a point. Alright, I'll speak with the commander."

xXx

Shinji's plea hadn't gone unheard. Abraham had been listening to the conversation between him and his quardian, and the idea of the young angel hybrid living in such squawler had been unnerving to him. _"This commander Ikari reminds me more and more of a devil with each passing day." _He said to himself. "_I suppose I can influence him a little more. It's not like I'll be punished, since this is my project." _

Saying this, the angel followed the two humans too NERV HQ where they planned to speak with said commander.

xXx

"So, now you two are full members of NERV, and as such, sworn to secrecy on matters outside this facility." Gendo said to the two boys in front of him, who stood rigidly as he spoke. "Also, you're both to undertake a synchronization test for compatibility with Unit 01, in case Pilot Ikari is incapasitated."

"S-sir," Touji said, raising his hand, "W-we haven't heard anything since they put us through the first tests, but shouldn't we have our own Evas?"

Gendo repressed a grin. The boy's already feared him, a fact which pleased him. "That is correct, and they are still under construction, but they won't be long in coming. As it stands, Unit 02 and its pilot will arrive first, then Unit 03 will arrive shortly after that. We're hoping that Unit 04 won't be as long after that."

"How long will that take?" Kensuke asked clearly, unlike the larger boy, "I don't mean to sound impatient, sir, but I'd really like to see some action soon."

"That attitude will not help," Gendo said, "As you've seen, you're well below the level of Pilot Ikari as you witnessed the previous battle as I did not. But from what I heard, he preformed something akin to a miracle. If his skills inside his Eva are that far ahead of any of the other pilots that have had prior training, then I have no qualms about putting him in command of the Eva fighting force. You will follow his and orders, and above that, you will follow mine, or Major Katsuragi. Disobey, and there will be consequences. Put them in danger with reckless behavior, and the world will burn." Both boys paled at his words.

"It seems you understand," Gendo went on, "That is a good thing, because I won't tolerate failure. Both of you may have decent sync rates with Unit 00, and will most certainly do better with the new units, but that means little if you cannot, or will not follow orders. Pilot Suzuhara, not only are you protecting Japan, but I understand that you have a younger sister." Touji nodded, "Then you should understand that by following our orders and piloting the Eva as instructed, you are protecting her as well.

"Pilot Aida, I understand your father works in the lower branches of NERV, and seeing as this will be ground zero for what's to come, you must feel that fighting to protect this place also means protecting him as well. If one of the angels get's past NERV's Evas, then this base is set to automatically set to self destruct, sending us all to meet he who sends these beasts to us." Kensuke gulped, but nodded as Touji clenched his fists, "You may think this harsh, but the reality is this; you are no longer mere children. You are both adults in this facility, and will be treated as such, and not be coddled. You already have you're IDs, and know what priveligdes come with them, but you are expected to act responsibly, or they will be taken aways just as easily they were given."

"Yes, sir," both of them droned out, while Kensuke snapped a salute with Touji imitating him a second later.

"Good," Gendo nodded, "Now, as to your living arrangements - "

"_Commander, Major Katsuragi and Pilot Ikari are here to see you_."

"Send them in," he sighed at being interupted. Touji and Kensuke grinned when the door opened to reveal their friend and his guardian, while, unseen, Abraham floated alongside them behind Shinji. "What is it that you want?"

"Sir," Misato said respectfully, "Are you aware of Rei Ayanami's living conditions?"

"I am," he said as Abraham floated over to him, "What concern is this of your's?"

Misato nodded, "The building has been deemed unfit for human habitation as it is to be demolished. Pilot Ikari and myself feel it would be safer for Pilot Ayanami to stay with us until she finds a more suitable place to live."

"I do not think that is necessary," Gendo said, seeing his son's eyes flash with slight anger.

Abraham grimaced as Misato spoke again. "But sir, surely she would be more comfortable - "

The angel leaned over and started whispering to the commander again. "It is unecessary because I was just discussing living arrangements with Pilots Suzuhara and Aida. I believe it would be more practical for all pilots currently under our care to live under one roof." Gendo parroted, shocking all present, "There is a sizable flat here in the Geofront, which I believe is large enough to house multiple people if needed. And seeing as the Second Child will be arriving in a few weeks, I thought it best to prepare. All I need to do is purchase the house as the land is already owned by NERV."

"W-w-wha-what?" Misato stuttered, completely stunned by the show of kindness as was Shinji.

"Who the hell are you, and what have you done with my asshole dad?" Shinji found himself asking.

Gendo grimaced as Abraham's control slipped when a small laugh escaped him, "You're welcome to find a place of your own, Pilot Ikari." In truth, he hadn't know what possessed him to do such a thing, but figured it must have been on his mind since he'd brought it up.

Shinj bristled, but Misato intervened when she sensed a fight brewing, "That's very kind of you, Commander, I'll be sure to pass this on to Rei when we pick her up. When will the children be able to move in."

Abraham grinned and started whispering again. "You will all be able to start by this evening, including you, Major."

"Me?!" Misato yelled.

"Yes, effective immediately, you are the acting guardian for all pilots within our branch of NERV."

"Bu...I..."

"Say thank you," Shinji hissed.

"T-thank you, sir!"

Abraham grinned, "_That was easy."_ He floated toward the door, "_Now they won't be as cramped and lonely. Now we just have to deal with Ramiel when he arrives." _

"Sir, what should I do about my sister?" Touji asked, "My dad works a lot here at NERV, and it's hard for him to look after her by himself."

"He will be given a more lenient shift so he can properly care for her," Gendo said, "He does good work, and is due for a promotion."

"Thank you, sir." Touji bowed.

Gendo sighed, "If there is nothing more to discuss, I suggest getting ready to move your things to your new residence. And be sure to inform Rei. Also, Shinji, if you preform as well as you did in the last battle as I've heard, then I'll be making you ranking captian of th Eva squads once we have our numbers up."

Shinji, a little taken aback, nodded, "I-I'll try not to disappoint you, sir."

"See that you don't," he said coldly, "Now get leave, my generosity has run dry for the month. Enjoy the house."

xXx

Rei stayed with Misato and Shinji that night, finding that spending time with the two was more than enjoyable. She even met Penpen, who warmed up to the girl almost immediately, she spent the evening with the friendly bird in her lap, stroking his feathers while she watched her half-brother cook their dinner.

This proccess had the girl's head spinning. Like Misato once had, Rei relied on instant foods for her meals, but there was nothing like that here. Shinji was a blur around the kitchen as he chopped vegetables and fried up dishes of rice, and chicken.

The smells assaulting her nose made her mouth water, even though she felt uncomfortable eating meat, she wouldn't mind it this time. Watching Misato argue with Shinji over her consumption of beer was amusing. As her new guardian, she had expected Misato to be more than capable on and off the clock. This proved to be false when she downed one can after another until Shinji stepped in and stopped her after five.

"Why can't you drink healthily?" Shinji groaned as Misato whined like a child when he took the can from her. Instead it was replaced with a cup of Oolong tea. He then passed one to Rei. "Sorry, you get used to her after a few days."

"This is fine," she said, excepting the cup, "For some reason, this situation feels natural." Penpen squawked at her from her lap. Rei smiled, setting her cup down to resume petting him.

Shinji smirked, "You're going to spoil him rotten."

"Spoil?" Rei said, "I didn't realize that a penguin could rot before death?"

Misato sputted as Shinji chuckled, "That's not what I mean. I meant that if you keep given him so much attention he'll take it for granted and come to expect it. Just like I expect Misato to realize that she's cutting back on beer," he cast a glance in her direction, "whether she likes it or not."

"Hmph!" Huffed Misato, "You sound more like _my_ guardian."

This caused a bubbling sensation in Rei's chest that burst forth unexpectedly. She laughed. Shinji smiled at her, "That's a cute laugh, you should do it more often when you feel like it."

_I've never laughed before, _she thought self consciously, _It...it felt nice. _"Shinji, I'd like to ask you something."

"Ask away," Shinji said, returning to the stove.

"Why do you not trust your father?"

Misato looked over at the boy in interest. This was something she'd wondered more than enough over the month and half she'd come to know him. Shinji, still tending the food, smiled sadly. "If you'd asked me something like that a year ago, I probably would have said something like it was because he abandoned me for most of my life. I realize he couldn't have me around while he directed Japan's branch of NERV, though I wish he'd have at least taken time to write a letter to me. But seeing him after so long, with the same eyes as mine were back then. Lonely, cold, unfeeling, just like I was." He turned to Rei, looking into her crimson eyes, "Yes, we're alike in some ways, but other than that, I know nothing about the man I call my father. In that sense, I don't trust him anymore than I'd trust a total stranger."

"I see," Rei said, unconsciously biting her lip. A motion that he noticed.

"I know you've know him longer than I have, and probably seen some good things about him." He said, remembering the story of how Gendo had jumped in to help Rei when her Eva had gone berserk and lashed out at all present, even burning his bare hands on the super-heated hatch. "But he's shown me nothing to gain my trust, and until he does, then this is the way I'll stay."

Rei nodded, still absently stroking Penpen's head. "Thank for answering me."

"Of course," Shinji said, "I just hope I haven't upset you. I already know he means alot to you. I've seen the way you speak to him. It's more animated, and natrual, unlike you are now."

I'm sorry."

Misato piped up, "There's nothing to apologize for, that will come over time when you know us better, as well as the other pilots. But you need to know," she smiled at the girl, "Me, Shinji, Touji, and Kensuke are your friends."

"Wark!" Penpen squawked, flapping his wings.

"Sorry, you too, Penpen." Misato laughed. Rei, a little overwhelmed by their words, felt her cheeks heating up just a little. So new were this feelings around these people that called themselves her friends. And her brother.

"Enough drama,"Shinji chirped, bringing his steaming skillet over to the talble, "Dinner time, and it's chicken and rice stir-fry!"

xXx

Across Japan, Abraham had taken flight toward the western sea, sensing a forboding presesnce. "_He's early." _He said to himself as he flew, his wing carrying him fast than a plane could fly. Miles away from Tokyo-3, and several hundred miles out to sea, a gigantic blue diamond floated slowly toward the land.

The imposing figure loomed over the smaller humanoid angel that now floated in front of him. "_Ramiel, stop, you must listen to me!"_

_"Move aside, brother,"_ the booming voice of the angel said, "_You know that I cannot stop my advance once I have begun. Your champion awaits my judgement, and it is my duty, as it was before, to test his heart, and see if he still has the strength to carry on doing battle with the angels of destruction."_

_"Why must it be this way, brother?" _Abraham asked sadly, "_Who is it making you to do this?"_

Ramiel slowed his advance, "_You know that my brothers and sisters, and myself, are draw to Lilith. The second angel calls for the destruction of the Lilin until her dying breath. As to who is aiding me in my advance, that must remain a secret until the final battle...if the children live that long."_

_"They will!" _Abraham growled, "_You didn't see the look in the Third's eyes the day everything ended! He was devestated, alone, helpless! He cannot become the new Adam of this world, brother." _

Ramiel chuckled, "_Yet he has the will and strength, thanks in no small part to you." _The angel chuckled again, "_If I didn't know you as well as I do, then I would call you mad." _

Abraham laughed at that, "_Perhaps I am. But I wish to see where humanity goes after Seele's fall back plan of the EMP blast."_

_"There will be much trial for them this time around." _Ramiel said, _"Offer a prayer that they are ready for what lies ahead of them. For where you see happiness, I also see pain and anguish."_

_"Where there is dark, afterward always comes the light, brother." _Abraham said, shrugging. "_I must go, now, Ramiel. My champion needs to know of your advance."_

_"Prepare him well, Abraham, for when the time comes, he will be tested beyond perhaps even Tabris." _Ramiel said as the smaller angel nodded and flew away, "_This, I know, is good-bye, brother. May we meet again at the gates of paradise."_

xXx

Shinji lay in bed when he felt sleep tugging at his mind, and a familiar warm of something drawing his soul away from his body. Knowing what it was, he didn't feel any fear as he opened his eyes to see the crossroads between life and death. "Abraham?"

"Here, brother," the angel said from his usual perch on a boulder by the side of the path, "And I fear that I bring bad tidings from my younger brother, Ramiel."

"He's coming," Shinji said, fear leaking into his voice, "isn't he?"

"Sooner than I'd expected," Abraham nodded, "And he's stronger than before as I feared. You will have a difficult time with him. Much more so than the first. And he knows about the past."

"He remembers?" Shinji gasped, "Then will the sniper rifle work?"

"It will, but he will be harder on you than he was last time...he wants to test you, to make sure that you have the stomach to relive all of this."

Shinji, stunned by this, clenched his fists, "I don't have the stomach?! Why would I come back to this time if I wasn't prepared for it?! If I'm not careful, I'll have to watch most of the friends I've made, and my sister, die right in front of me! And he thinks I don't have the spine to go through with it?!"

"Calm yourself, Shinji," Abraham said, "You must realize that Ramiel is one of the few angels of destruction that can communicate if he so choses, and while he may not heed you, he will listen. I tried to stop his advance, but he merely told me to prepare you to the best of my abilities. So I'm going to further unlock the abilities of the Eva, making Unit 01's AT-Field more resistant to his energy attacks. It will not be like last time. You can do this, Shinji Ikari."

"Even if I wanted to run," Shinji smiled at the angel, "I couldn't, I have too much to fight for now."

Abraham smiled, "So you have a solid reason to fight? What is it?"

Shinji smiled back, "To live a happy life along side the people I love."

* * *

_**Again, not one of the best chapters, but Ramiel's battle is now approaching, and the angel of thunder plans to put Shinji through the proverbial ringer as Abraham gifts his Eva with one new strength. Keep reading to find out how he will be tested.**_

_**Please don't forget to review!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Well, that last chapter got some nice reviews, so here we go again. As said in the last chapter Ramiel is coming earlier than either Shinji or even Abraham have thought, so now we'll see just how much stronger both pilot and angel have become. Sorry to say that I changed the battle up to be different that canon, but hopefully it's satisfactory to the readers.**_

_**5: Thunder of Heaven.**_

* * *

Shinji woke the morning after his conversation with Abraham slower than usual. His thoughts were on the coming battle. Remembering the last time he'd fought with this particular angel, he still felt his Eva's pain when the blast had hit Unit 01. The LCL had boiled all around him, nearly killing him if it hadn't been for Misato's quick thinking to blow the explosive bolts on the catapult, he would have boiled alive.

Shaking off his doubt he rolled out of bed and headed for the kitchen, then veered into the living room to check on Rei. The sight he found nearly made him laugh. The girl was curled up on the couch, her knees close to her chest, with a small smile on her face. Sprawled out next to her was Penpen, who had apparently adopted the girl as his second owner. She lay on her right side, and had her left hand stretched out to the bird's head, making it seem like she was petting him in her sleep.

_Maybe we should let her have a pet of her own, _Shinji thought, smiling, and returning to the kitchen to make breakfast. Today they would start moving to the new residence that his father had told them about, which still slightly unnerved the boy. Never had he expected the man to be so considerate of anyone, let alone the Eva pilots, except maybe Rei.

Shinji had done most of his packing the previous night, since he had very little, as did Rei, since she had next to nothing. Misato, to Shinji's aggravation, tried to stuff all the remaining beer she had into a bag so he wouldn't try to make her leave it. Which he had. That left only the kitchen supplies and the family pet, Penpen. The warm water penguin had little to nothing himself except his own fridge and his food bowl, other than that, most everything else would be left behind for cleaning crews to dispose of.

Shinji smiled, "This will be great. When Asuka gets here, she'll have all the room she needs." That little thought turned the boy's mind to other things. His time with the feiry red-head hadn't been pleasant at all times, but then there small moments when the two had shared a smile, a joke, and for a breif spur of a moment, a kiss.

The memory of the night she'd nearly suffocated him choked a laugh out of him. _I may not have been able to breathe, _he thought with a blush on his face, _But that was the most amazing thing I've ever felt. _Then he recalled the moments after that, when she had spiraled into depression after Kaji's death, and the fact that she relied on piloting her Eva to make her life mean something. As her sync rate had dropped, so had her will to live.

"I won't let that happen again," he promised himself, and turned on the stove.

Unknown to him, a certain cheeky angel was smiling at him with his face just barely peeking through the ceiling. Abraham chuckled and rose back through the ceiling, then flew off toward NERV.

While this happened, Shinji felt a cold shiver run down his spine, "What the hell? Feels like someone put ice down my shirt."

"Shinji?" He heard Rei call sleepily.

"I'm here, Rei," he called back softly. Rei stepped into the kitchen, dressed in one of Misato's over-sized shirts, and a pair of baggy shorts that Shinji had lent her, rubbing her eyes to clear away the sleep. She spotted him whisking batter by a stove-top griddle, "Morning, sleepy-head, hope you like pancakes."

"I've never had them," she said sleepily, sitting down at the table. Shinji took a moment to pour her a cup of coffee, which she took. Taking a sip of the dark liquid, she found it bitter, yet it was just what she needed to clear her sleep fogged mind. She kept drinking it until it was gone. "Thank you, Shinji."

Shinji grinned nervously, "I figured you'd use a little sugar and cream for it, but black wakes you up faster, I guess."

"It was bitter," she said, "But I do feel more awake now."

Shinji smiled and turned back to the bowl, "Normally people use sugar and cream to take the bitterness away, but drinking it just the way it is makes it more potent." He poured some of the batter onto the grill. "Are you ready to see the new place?"

She nodded, "I am, but there's a strange feeling of loss when I think about leaving this place. I don't know what it means."

"That's sadness," he put in, "It happens when people lose something or someone important. Like leaving behind a home you've become attached to." He chuckled, "Even I admit that this place got pretty cozy after I got it cleaned up."

The door to Misato's room slammed open, revealing the major in all her mid-morning glory. Which is to say, she still had her bed-clothes on and had the worst case of bed hair imaginable. Rei looked at her, a little surprised, "I believe she needs this more than I do, Shinji." She held out the coffee cup. Shinji grinned and refilled it while the pancakes cooked.

xXx

"Wow!" Touji crowed, "Look at this place, it's enormous!" Kensuke, with his camera trained on the house, said nothing. Both he and Misato were speechless. It was a slightly western style house with three floors, and multiple windows which meant lots of rooms. Shinji spied a little patch out to the side he thought would make a nice spot for a garden if he ever took up a hobby.

Rei remained quiet as she and Penpen took in the house and it's size.

"What was he thinking when he bought such a large house?" Misato wondered aloud, then a thought accured, "Oh, boy, this means he's planning for the other pilots to live here, too!"

Shinji snickered and tossed his bag over his shoulder, "Just think of it as one big happy family, Misato."

"I believe that was the title of the movie you were watching last night, Shinji." Rei pipped up.

Misato sighed, "He's right though, you all might as well call me Mama."

"If that is what you want, Mama." Rei said without missing a beat.

While Misato squawked, Shinji was trying hard not to laugh at the two of them. Misato really did feel like his mother at times. Though he had no memories of her since he'd been too young at the time when she was drawn into Unit 01, being with Misato often made him wonder if being with his own mother would feel the same, minus the extensive love of beer, of course.

Inside the house, Shinji found that his father had actually been more generous than he'd ever imagined possible. It was fully furnished with everything they might need, even a slightly large TV. Shinji immediately zeroed in on the kitchen, hoping he'd have everything he needed. He wasn't disappointed. The kitchen was already fully stocked with food and cookware for him to use. _Okay, now I know something's up. _Shinji thought, _There's no way in heaven or hell that Dad would do this. _

xXx

At that particular moment, one Gendo Ikari resisted an incredibly large urge to sneeze. _Shinji must be cursing me. I have no doubt. _"How is the transport of Unit 02 being handled?" He asked Fuyutsuki.

"Very well," he said, "And I have word from Kaji that he has traveled to the Bethany base to retrieve our requested item."

"Excellent," Gendo said, "And what of Units 03 and 04?"

"Also being prepared for sea transport." Fuyutsuki smiled, "From what I've heard those two will prove very useful. They have much the same capabilities, save for Unit 04 has a slight mobility advantage over the previous unit. It will be faster on land than our other Evas."

"Then we should try to calibrate that unit to the Third Child's sync ratio." Gendo said, "With a superior unit in his hands, there's no telling how the boy will fight."

"That's what worries me, sir," Fuyutsuki said, "You know why Unit 01's so temperamental with other pilots as well as I do. She prefers the company of the child she knows she gave birth to. Rei would be able to pilot it if Yui had met her before, but now she'll never accept another pilot of the Eva except her own son."

Gendo sighed, "You're right, but still, he is extraordinary."

"You should tell him that sometime, Gendo." The Vice-commander said, "You know she would like that."

"I know she would," he sighed again, "But that boy hates me for what I've done, and if he knew even half the truth, or even about Rei, he'd try something drastic."

Fuyutsuki laughed, "And you wouldn't? Face it, he's grown into a strong young man now, and he's grown to treat Rei as a sister, which is good considering they are."

"I - "

The alarm suddenly went off, and both men shot up from their seats.

"Already?" Fuyutsuki gasped.

"So it would seem," Gendo said, adjusting his glasses. "The fifth angel has arrived a month earlier that predicted."

"I'll alert the pilots," Fuyutsuki said, heading for the door. "This will give the new ones a chance to see what happens in a real battle."

"Yes, that's true, but we are fortunate that the repairs to Unit 00 have been completed," Gendo said, "All that remains is to do a sync test. Have that done while Shinji pilots. We may need it if the battle proves too much for him to handle."

"At the rate he's going?" The vice commander smirked over his shoulder, "I wouldn't be surprised if he won without breaking a sweat."

Gendo sighed, a feeling of foreboding overcoming him, "I hope that you're right."

xXx

Little over an hour later, as the pilots arrived at the base, Ramiel made landfall on Japan, and advanced toward Tokyo-3. All four pilots were brought to the command center for a breifing on the situation, though Shinji had a fairly good grasp of what was to come. All his mental preparation had done little to calm his nerves. This was the angel of death to him.

"As you can see from the video feed from the UN helicopters, the angel moves by using its AT-Field to levitate and propel itself forward," Ritsuko instructed the pilots, "The plan is to send in Unit 01 as the primary combattan, but we also have Unit 00 on standby if the need arises."

"What about the synchronization test?" Shinji asked, "Shouldn't that be preformed first?"

Ritsuko nodded, "We were planning on doing so while you fought in case we did have to send out a second unit."

"That seems a little risky, right?" Touji asked, getting everyone's attention, "I mean, syncing with an Eva is supposed to be dangerous if the sync rate is too low, isn't it?"

Ritsuko nodded, impressed, "I see you paid attention." Touji blushed. "Yes, it is potentially dangerous, but this time, we've made sure all of the Eva's systems are fully functional. Rei shouldn't have a problem piloting it."

Kensuke whined, "Aw! When do we get the chance to fight!" Shinji, being the closest, sweat dropped at his friend's enthusiasm. Kensuke cast him a jealous look, "You and Rei are so lucky! I wanna fight, too!"

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow, "Is he always like this?"

Touji sighed, "Anything that has to do with something military, or has big guns, this nut loves." He jerked his thumb over at his friend, "Sorry, Doc, but that's just how he is."

Rei, having experienced some of her fellow pilot's military madness while unpacking at the their new home, nodded. "He has little tanks and armored trucks in his room."

_Great, _Ritsuko thought with a sigh, _we're running a government sanctioned dare care. _"Alright, enough of this, Shinji, please get suited up and await further orders, Rei, report to the test room, and you two," she looked down at the two newest pilots, "are to remain her and observe the battle to gain some experience on how things work here."

"Yes Ma'am," the four of them droned.

xXx

Shinji pressed the button on his wrist so that his plug suit would tighten around him. His nerves were starting to catch up to him, but that was the least of his worries. The angel would also put Rei in danger as well as himself if he didn't time his shot just right. Last time he had fired too late and the angel had shot its own beam at him to disrupt his shot, and fired again as Rei had stepped in front of him to shield his Eva from the blast.

"Can I really do this?" He asked aloud, doubt hanging over his shoulders like lead weights. Then he shook himself, and dropped to his knee, clasping his hands together as he did.

xXx

"What's the status of the Unit 01 pilot?" Gendo asked as he took his seat.

Maya checked her monitor looking stunned at what she saw. Deciding it was best that the commander saw for himself, she put the video up onto the main screen. The sight ultimately shocked, even Misato, who lived with him.

"Is he _praying_?"

xXx

"Abraham?" Shinji whispered, too low for the cameras to catch. A moment later his mind drifted off to a familiar forest.

"Yes, Shinji?" Abraham's voice drifted to his ears, and the boy opened his eyes.

"Sorry, but I feel a little unsure of myself," Shinji said, shaking his head, "This angel nearly killed me and Rei once before. I just don't see how I can stay out of its path this time."

"You will" Abraham said, taking a step toward him, "As I said, Ramiel is one of the few angels that will open his ears to the Lilin, which makes him hesitate at times, and that may be your window to strike him down. But remember that your AT-Field is stronger now, and the damage to your Eva will e lessened, giving you the chance to flee if you must. No one will think you a coward if you do. Ramiel is one of the most powerful angels to come."

"It's amazing that we managed to eat him last time," Shinji sighed.

Abraham snapped his fingers, "There's your answer, Shinji Ikari. We! Never forget that you are not alone in this fight, because you have Rei behind you as well as your friends. Even your father is behind you, somewhat."

Shinji grimaced at the Kaowru look-alike, "Somehow I doubt that. He's so hell bent on seeing Mom again that he's willing to let the world burn."

Abraham chuckled, crossing his arms, "He just doesn't know how to express his feelings. Much like how you used to be."

"Was I that bad?" Shinji cringed.

"Indeed you were," Abraham laughed, "You're only just now realizing how much that young red-hair pilot meant to you, are you not?"

"Asuka?" Shinji blushed, "She was just a close friend."

"Baloney," Abraham laughed again, "You were both attracted to each other and you both knew it! You're problem was getting close to people, which is now null and void seeing as you've gotten that new attitude. Her's was simply depending on someone other than herself. She had no friends, or family at all. Unlike you, she only wanted to be around herself. Save for that Ryoji Kaji fellow."

Shinji looked up at him, "That's something else I'd like to set right. Kaji didn't deserve to die like that, especially by Dad's hand."

Abraham nodded, "I hear you, brother, but I regret to say that you'll be on your own with that. I can only interfere with the Eva's and your own powers."

"I'll think of something," Shinji said, "Thanks for listening, I should probably get back to my body now."

"Think nothing of it." He said, "I will always be here if I can, whether it be to let your worries out, or to plan the next move. I'll be here until the end."

Shinji smiled, nodding as everything faded again.

Shinji snapped his eyes open, looking for the clock on the wall. It was time. "_Shinji Ikari, report to the Eva cages immediately."_

xXx

"That was odd," Gendo said quietly, "I had no idea he was the religious sort." Beside him the vice commander nodded, "He's full of surprises. Which is why you've decided to make him the captain of the Eva pilots."

"No, that's not why," Gendo said, sighing, "I just felt I owed the boy something after I left him."

xXx

"LCL pressure stable," Maya smiled, "We have a strong ninety-five percent sync ratio for the pilot, and holding."

"Excellent," Ritsuko smiled back at her apprentice, then turned to the two boys, "Now I want you two to pay attention to this battle, because soon you'll be out there, too, and he'll count on you for support."

"Yes, ma'am," Touji said, keeping his eyes on the screen, which showed Shinju sitting in the entry plug of his Eva, while Kensuke was practically drooling at the thought of really seeing how things were done.

"_This is Shinji, Doctor Akagi, do we have a visual on the target?" _Shnij asked.

"It's just about to hit the mountains around Tokyo-3," she said, "We'll send you up as soon as it enters."

Kensuke looked at her, "I'm sorry, but wouldn't it be better to face the angel down outside the city where there'll be less damage?"

"That would be ideal, but we have fewer escape ports and weapon vaults outside the city, which would put the Eva at a disadvantage if he lost his weapon or needed a quick escape route."

"Damn, so if he gets outside the city limits, he's fucked, right?" Touji grimaced.

"Correct," Gendo said, answering the boy, "But the way he fights, he could use his AT-Field as a weapon if he needed to."

Touji thought back to the battle they'd watched a few weeks ago, "That's what those claws of his were, right? It looked a little ethereal."

"It's basically a form of psychic energy made possible by the Eva itself," Ritsuko explained, "All life forms have one, but not all can use them. So far, no human can use one outside the Eva."

"Sounds more like a huge amount of will power to me," Touji said thoughtfully, "I mean, I watched the battle and that field thingy went from a shield to those freaky claws on the Eva's hands, and he tore that thing apart so easily after that."

Ritsuko smiled, impressed, "That's actually an apt description, pilot Suzuhara. It takes an incredibly strong will to manipulate an AT-Field."

"If Shinji can do it, it can't be that hard," Kensuke snickered.

"_I heard that!" _Shinji yelled.

"Sorry, Shin- "

"Visual confirmation on the target," Hyuga yelled, "It's just now entering the city!"

"Launch Unit 01!"

"_Here we go!" _Shinji growled.

Ramiel, floating near the catapult opening, had already started charging an AT-Field beam, which had Maya's sensors going off the charts. As she started yelling over the link at Ritsuko about the impending danger, Shinji tightened his grip on the controls, ready to move the moment he got to the surface.

"Look out! Duck!" Misato screamed just as he reached the surface. Ramiel wasted no time in firing his shot, but Shinji was already on the move as the beam shot past him as he ducked to the right.

"Too slow!" Shinji yelled, his field materializing in front of him, and the explosion from the beam propelling him forward. He was expecting Ramiel to simply turn toward him to fire another shot, but the diamond-shaped angel started shifting it's shape, shocking the boy into stopping his advance. First it resembled a crystal hourglass, revealing the core as it then branched out into the shape of a cross as it emitted a high-pitched keen.

"Get out of there, now!" Misato yelled, snapping him out of his daze. But it was too late, the beam shot toward him again, stronger than the last, and slammed into Unit 01's AT-Field. Taking by surprise again, Shinji rought both arms of the Eva up to hold the shield in place.

To Ritsuko and Maya, this AT-Field was the strongest they'd seen the unit produce so far, thickly layered, and dense enough to split the beam of the opposing angel off in different directions.

Shinji pushed back with all his might, but the beam was still too strong for him to handle on his own. _I need to get closer!_

Ramiel, finally relenting and breaking off the beam, started changing shape again, forming into pentagram, growing larger and larger with each fold. Shinji saw his chance and barreled in, the Eva's AT-Field circling around his right arm into a lance the length of the Eva itself. The core of the angel was exposed as the keening sounded again. The core glowed dangerously with a bright pinkish light as the Eva neared it.

Misato, Kensuke and Touji all watched as the purple giant threw back its arm and lunged forward as the angel released another, more powerful blast. Shinji's make-shift lance parted the beam to a point that he was mere inches away from piercing the core, but the force of the blast soon shattered his weapon, and struck his chest armor.

"_AH!" _Shinji's voice screeched, as the other's watched his fight, helpless.

"Send Unit 00 up," the commander said, startling them, "And have it equiped with a positron rifle!"

"But Commander, the test - " Ritsuko cried, but he cut her off.

"We can't lose Unit 01," Gendo growled, "We'll just have to risk it."

Back with Shinji, the young pilot felt like his bones were aflame, and about to melt with the intense heat he was feeling from the LCL. _This is worse than last time! _Shinji thought, trying to rebuild his AT-Field. He was seconds away from having a hole bored right through his Eva, including the entry plug.

Shinji growled as he pushed his sync rate deeper, "You're not getting the better of me, you bastard!" Shinji's roar brought on a change in the Eva. Unit 01's normally neon-green bindings turned a deadly shade of red. The mouth opened, revealing red, gnashing teeth.

_Shinji, don't! _He heard Abraham yell, _You're not ready to go that far, yet! You'll kill yourself!_

_If that's what it takes, then I'm willing to ive up everything! _Shinji yelled back, forcing his AT-Field out into a thicker shield form. All this time, Ritsuko was watching as the Eva threatened to ascend into an angel itself, but Shinji seemed to have control of it.

"Maya, what's his sync rate?" Ritsuko asked, at a loss for words.

"He's stabilizing at three hundred-ninety-nine," she sighed, "I don't know how he's doing this, but he's keeping himself just barely human, but at the same time, he's ready to take the next step if he has to."

Gendo, not only surprised, but worried for the pilot asked, "Is Rei moving toward the surface?!"

"She's on her way now, with the rifle as ordered, sir," Hyuga said, his eyes glued on the struggling Eva. "Come on, Shinji, take that thing down!"

Touji and Kensuke were also stunned by this. They now knew just what piloting an Eva could do to them. And what Shinji was willing to do. Touji clenched his fist, "You better win this, Shinji." He growled, "I still haven't paid you back for saving me and my sister, yet!"

"Take him down!" Kensuke roared, "That thing's a wimp compared to you!"

Shinji, close to reaching his limit, saw a cloud of red in front of his face as the LCL started to bubble violently, but laughed when he heard his friends, "You really are slave drivers, guys, but I'll see what I can do about this freak!" he pushed forward again, the field narrowing into a conical point aimed straight at the blazing core.

The area surrounding them had all but been obliterated by the heat of the angel's attacks, and Shinji was thankful that most of the buildings had been taken under ground for safety.

_Shinji, _Abraham said softly, _You need to end this soon. You're body won't hold out for much longer._

_I'm trying, _he ground out, _but this thing is too powerful for me to handle on my own! I might have to go past four hundred!_

_Shinji, you silly boy, _the angel laughed, _I thought I already told you; You're never alone. _

Before Shinji could comment, a cannon blast sounded and a shot exploded against the angel's side. Shinji gasped and looked for the shooter, spotting Rei and Unit 00 sittign atop a building with a positron rifle in her grip. The shot had startled the angel into breaking off the attack, causing Shinji to lurch forward, driving the point of his AT-Field home and through the core, but not before the angel fired off one last shot at Unit 00. It was a weak shot compared to what had been used before now, but it struck the Eva's left shoulder knocking her off her perch.

"Rei!" Shinji shouted.

Ramiel, his core punctured by the AT-Field, screamed, his body erupting into a massive spiny crystal, and began to fall. Shinji paid little attention. His focus was on the downed Unit 00.

"Life signs for pilot Ayanami!" Gendo roared, "And get me a sync rate for Unit 01!"

"All vitals on Rei are green, sir," Maya said, "Sync ratio for Unit 01 has dropped back into high ninties."

"And the angel?" Misato asked.

"Silent." Ristuko smiled, "He's done it."

xXx

_Ramiel's soul drifted between his body and the crossroads, with Abraham looking down at him. "To think I doubted your champion, brother." The soul flashed a moment, reappearing as a young, golden-haired man with blue eyes, "Forgive a doubting fool."_

_Abraham smiled sadly, "There is nothing more to forgive, brother. You were simply doing what father instructed you to do at the time of the covenant." Abraham swept his wide, white wings out behind him, "Now, let me take you home, to where we belong."_

_"Home," Ramiel mused, "That sounds very nice. I wonder if I'll get to stay this time?"_

_"You will," Abraham said, stretching out his hand, "I promise, you can rest in peace forever."_

_Ramiel smiled and stretched out his hand, "I pray you are right, Abraham. Remember your champion still has yet to face Armisael, an angel of the womb. Should she succeed, all of the angels of destruction shall be reborn unto the world, and I fear she may not act alone."_

_Abraham took his brother's hand, "Whatever the challenge he may face, I have confidence in my chosen champion." The two angels smiled at each other as they began to ascend. "Besides, he not only fights for the Lilin, but for those he loves as well." _

xXx

Rei, after Shinji had nearly toppled a building to get to her, turned out to be fine with only a minor bruised left shoulder after Ramiel's attack. Shinji, however, hadn't been so lucky. His body was worn out near to exhaustion, and had internal bleeding in his lungs from the power used for his AT-Field. He was, needless to say, rushed back to the emergency room.

Misato escorted him herself, half-berating, and half-worrying about him. What he had done had been the epitome of recklessness. He was told by Ritsuko, who over saw his treatment, that he was lucky that he was still human.

All this time, Kensuke and Touji had kept themselves quiet, not knowing what to say after seeing their friend risk his life like that. Neither of them wanted to see it again. Especially not Touji. For the brawny boy, it was a matter of pride, and duty to his friends that now drove him. "Kensuke, when we get out Evas, we need to be as strong as Shinji." He said, a low growl in his voice, "He can't keep doing that to himself."

"Yeah," the boy said, "I can't even get excited about being a pilot anymore after seeing him like that on the screen. Did you see that look in his eyes? He was totally ready to die!"

"I know!" Touji shouted, "That's what kills me! What have we done to deserve that?! We're friends, but that doesn't mean he has to fight so hard to protect everyone!"

Kensuke sighed, "Weren't you listening? He's doing this for every man, woman and child!"

"Oh, right, sorry," Touji said sheepishly, "Still, it seems so...I don't know, wrong that he has to fight alone all the time."

"Well, he's got Rei, now," Kensuke pointed out, smiling at the thought of Rei being able to fight without a sync test, "She'll have his back until we get the new Eva's."

Touji nodded, crossing his arms, "Those two seem more like siblings, the way they care for each other. Even Rei looks a little more lively when she talks to him."

"You know," Kensuke said, placing a finger on his chin, "They do look a bit alike, I mean the facial features are pretty close, if her face was just a little longer in the chin she'd almost be his twin."

Touji was still thinking about that when Misato came out of the operating room. Both boys stood at attention as she saw them. "Hey, guys," she smiled, "You'll be happy to know that he'll be just fine after a day or so of rest."

Touji sighed in relief, "That's great, but this has got to stop. He nearly got himself killed this time!"

"I agree," she said, then smiled warmly, "Lucky for us, out little family is about to get a little bigger. Unit 02 and its pilot are now a few hundred miles off the coast of Japan."

x-At the same time-x

Abraham, chuckling with glee at his devious little plot, floated above the _Over the Rainbow, _looking for one Asuka Shikinami. With him was a small disc which had video feed from the three battles that Shinji had fought over the past few months that he intended to give the girl in order to giver a push in the right direction. Spotting an unmistakable shock of red hair strutting across the deck, Abraham flew down lazily, changing into a deck hand and getting behind her.

"Captain Shinkinami!" He called after her. The girl turned around to look at him curiously, a little peeved that she hadn't heard him coming. "I've just received this from the Japanese branch of NERV." He held out the video disc to her. "I think you should have a look at it."

Asuka took the disc, looking at it with a mixture of curiosity, and disdain, "What is it?"

"A recent compilation of the three angel attacks on Tokyo-3, ma'am," he smiled, "These battles were all handled by the Unit 01 pilot, who seems extraordinarily intune with his Eva. This might give you a little edge against him in the long run," he smiled as he saw a spark of competive pride flash in her eyes.

"Danke," she spoke in German and whirled toward the cabin area.

"Du bist willkommen." The angel smiled, and disappeared just as she began to turn, having not known any of the officers spoke her language fluently. But he was already gone.

Raising her eyebrow, the girl shivered, and turned to head to her cabin. Around fifteen minutes later, she found herself immersed in the battles that had been recorded on the disc, which showed the battle bewteen the angel and the Eva, the conversations between the pilot and the NERV team assisting him, and a visual of the pilot inside the entry plug.

"Mein Gott im Himmel!" She breathed out as she watched the Eva literally tear the fourth angel to pieces with an enhanced AT-Field. Then she found herself laughing at the banter between him and his fellow pilots before the fifth angel's attack. The outrage on his face was too priceless. Then, like she was watching a suspenseful movie, she bit her nails as Shinji faced off against the powerful opponent that was the fifth angel. Even as his Eva threatened to go berserk, Shinji still fought to destroy his target, though she thought that if the Unit 00 prototype hadn't stepped in, the battle would have turned ugly.

But it was the pilot himself that was holding her attention the most. He showed compassion, kindness, and, in her thoughts, was filled with limitless courage to keep fighting the way he did. She even felt touched that he wanted to protect his father whom he considered a bastard. "Captain Shinji Ikari, hmm?" She smiled a small blush coming to her cheeks, "We'll see how things work out, but he could give me a run for my money for top pilot."

* * *

**_Finally got this done! As you can see, Ramiel is dead and gone, but for how long? As Abraham sets out to bring the two pilots together, where will his mischief lead the two? Stay tuned to find out!_**

**_And don't forget to review, please!_**


	6. Chapter 6

_**This is yet another filler chapter, with a little comedy in the mix. But let me take the time to say that when working with the Evangelion series, you have, in all seriousness, an endless supply of material to work with. Of all manga/anime I've gotten interested in, no one has as many spin-offs. With this you have lite novels, manga, the anime, and the movies to give good reference material to mix and match the story to make it superb, which is, in all honesty, damn near impossible to do for anyone unless you possess raw, unrivaled talent as a writer. As of now, I have no idea where I stand, but I promise to make this as good as I can.**_

_**6: A Daily Life of A Pilot **__**I -His Doubts**_

* * *

Shinji, much to Ritsuko's annoyance, refused to remain in the hospital after his treatment was finished. Though his lungs would recover just fine, the blonde wanted him to stay so he would be well taken care of, but Shinji was having none of that. Shinji had grown to hate staying in the hospital, after all the times he'd done so in the past, and begged and pleaded with her to let him rest at home, seeing as it was closer than before.

Seeing the usually cheerful boy begging the way he had, hands clasped and on his knees, it hadn't taken long for her will to cave in.

With Ramiel out of the way, they could all breathe a sigh of relief, seeing as the next angel, if nothing prompted a quicker response, was to come in the next day or so after his recovery, and he knew that Asuka would be the one to handle it. But this hadn't helped steady his nerves at all. If he told anyone the truth, he was nervous to meet the German pilot again. He knew what he had to say, or needed to say, but still, seeing her again...

Shinji was brought out of that train of thought as the door to his hospital room opened. Expecting Misato, or even Rei, Touji, and Kensuke, Shinji looked up, only to find his father.

"Pilot Ikari," he greeted stoically, "I hope you're doing well?"

Shinji nodded, "As well as can be expected." He looked up at him, "Sorry about the damage to Unit 01. That could have been avoided if I'd kept my field strong."

Gendo shook his head, "When I sent Rei out there, I was more worried about the pilots of both Evas at the time." Shinji felt his eyes widen, had he just heard that?

Gendo continued, "As you know, I've monitored your battles from the first attack. And time and again, you've thrown yourself into it without regard for your own life, save for the lives of others." Shinji nodded again, wondering where this was going. Gendo sighed, "Shinji, what I'm trying to say is not to push yourself so hard anymore."

"What?!" Shinji shouted, unwittingly startling some poor nurses passing by his door, "Who the hell are you? No way in hell does my dad care enough to say something like that!"

"I never knew you cared so little about your life until you started killing yourself with each battle you fought," Gendo said, "This last time was the worst of them all. You very easily could have died if Rei hadn't gotten to you in time." Shinji opened his mouth to retort, but Gendo cut him off, "You are a captain of a growing team, now, you can't act so recklessly."

"Captain?" Shinij raised his eyebrow, "I thought that was a joke for Kensuke and Touji. You're really giving me the rank?"

"Yes, and you're expected to act accordingly," he said, with a slight smile, "And dress accordingly when protocol demands it. Like the trip to meet with the captain of Over the Rainbow to pick up Unit 02 and it's pilot."

"I have to wear a uniform?" Gendo nodded. "Dear God, just kill me!" Shinji's moaning slightly amused his father, but kept himself in check.

"That would not help the situation," Gendo pointed out, "Now, as I understand it, you're heading back to the new house I bought for you to rest up. I suggest taking one of the cars so you may do so in comfort. And one more thing," he reached into his coat, which had Shinji on edge, but the older Ikari simply pulled out a small plastic card, "Consider this a late birthday gift."

Shinji hesitantly accepted the card, and looked down at it in surprise...it was a driver's license issued to him.

"How - ?"

"I had it made for your convenience," Gendo stated, "In the event that you have no way of Major Katsuragi driving you here, then you could use your own vehicle, and I hope you'll chose something responsible." With that, the commander turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, leaving Shinji staring afer him in total shock.

"What...the fuck just happened?"

Outside the room, Gendo leaned against the wall for a moment to steady himself, "Kozo was wrong about this being easy."

Elsewhere, Touji and Kensuke were enduring the tortures of their school day with very little to think about except that Shinji would be gone for a few more days to recover. Rei was back in school, though she too was worried. When the three of them had stepped in to see Shinji, Ritsuko was bandaging his chest, where a large round scar had been formed from his link with the Eva. Rei had felt a multitude of emotions when she saw him. Shock, rage, sadness, relief, happiness.

She was shocked to see the scar, of course, and angry at him for putting himself in the danger zone like that, sadness because he would now have to live with that scar as a reminder, relief that he was alive and happiness because he seemed to still be himself even after pushing his limit the way he had.

_I must be able to protect him better, _she thought,_ He is my only family, and he has done nothing but after me since he arrived. _It was during these thoughts that she felt a slight tap on her shoulder, causing her to turn around and find the class representative standing there, looking somewhat nervous around the girl.

"Yes?" Rei asked.

"Um, Ayanami...I know I probably shouldn't ask, but I heard that Touji and Kensuke have been at NERV a lot the past days...so I was wondering why?"

"Because they witnessed a battle between an angel and Unit 01," Rei replied bluntly, but loud enough for the class to catch, "This lead them to be taken in and tested for compatibility with an Eva unit. They are now pilots."

"WHAT!" Though the class heard everything the red-eyed girl had said, it was Hikari's voice that shouted the loudest of them all.

Touji went almost as pale as Rei when the girl turned her glare on him. Kensuke snickered, "I can't believe you didn't tell her, yet!"

"What the hell was I supposed to say?!" Touji hissed, then whimpered as the girl advanced on him.

Rei then watched as Hikari proceeded to pull the unfortunate boy's ear rather hard, causing a small spike of sympathy to well up within her. _Perhaps this was one of the times to keep information such as that to myself?_

xXx

Shinji, contrary to what his father had suggested, walked back home, his mind in a pure whirling maelstrom of confusion as he looked down at the license in his hand. _Did Abraham have something to do with this? _He wondered.

"Oh, sure, blame the angel," a small, definitely feminine voice said laughingly.

Shinji whirled around to find a girl about his height with silvery blonde hair, and golden eyes. The Third Child blinked in astonishment. "Abraham?"

The angel giggled, "It would be best to call me Tokiko for now, since I'm visible to other Lilin right now, but yes, your guess is correct, brother."

Shinji had a sudden urge to gag, "Wh-wh-why are you here like this?!"

She/he shrugged, "Is it such a bother?" The angel gestured to her body, "My kind don't really have a gender, aside from a voice or appearance, we are all the same."

"But why - ?"

Again the angel shrugged, "I thought that you would prefer the company of a female rather than a male. Besides, you were just blaming me for something, were you not?"

Shinji shrugged sheepishly, "Not really blaming perse, but I have to admit that Dad does act a little strange whenever you're around."

Tokiko nodded, "I will admit to manipulating him to some degree about your living conditions, and the transport of the new units, lest Bardiel has his way with one of them, resulting in the potential death or crippling of a pilot." She said, "But this, I admit, was not my doing."

"Then my dad did this - "

"Out of the kindness of his heart, and love for his son," Tokiko smiled happily, "You see? I told you that he cared about you."

Shinji sighed, "It's just hard to take in. He never did anything like this the last time around."

Tokiko cast him a glance that gave him the impression of a slight spike of anger, "Last time you did not try to kill yourself within each battle, Shinji Ikari. And, though it pains me to do so, I must agree with the commander. You are using too much of the AT-Field's power, far too soon for your body to keep up with the strain. If you must do so, then please, for your friends' sake, keep it below three hundred."

"Yeah, but - "

"But me no buts!" Tokiko growled, wagging her finger under his nose, "For the time being you must simply tone down that burning desire to protect everyone you hold dear to half of what it was."

Shinji, a little taken aback by this new attitude his angel friend had adopted in this new form, merely nodded and sighed in defeat. "I'll try?"

"That's good enough," she smiled brightly, "Now, were you, by chance, going to buy a vehicle?"

xXx

_"SHINJI IKARI!_" Misato roared.

"Where did you get that?!" Touji wailed in delight.

"I bought it," Shinji grinned, despite the outrageously angry look on Misato's face.

Kensuke, almost as jealous as Touji, eyed the sleek black frame of the motorcycle, "A _Yamaha YZF-R1_! You know how hard it is to find one of these? This is the two-thousand-five model!"

"I believe they are about as rare as the previous year model," Rei put in, also admiring the machine, reaching out to touch the frame.

Misato, tired of being ignored, muscled the two boys, and girl out of her way, "And who gave you authorization to buy this..._death trap_?!"

"Dad," Shinji said, flipantly, which threw the major for a major loop.

After all was explained, and Misato was thoroughly flummoxed, Shinji gladly started dinner, the first meal the five of them shared since moving in. Shinji had, unfortunately, spent the first night in the hospital, forcing the rest of them to eat from the NERV cafeteria, which was just a step up from what Misato was capable of cooking.

Tonight, all of them looked forward to the pilot's home cooking...except when said pilot spotted their guardian sneaking toward the refrigerator. "_OH NO YOU DON'T_!"

"_OH YES I DO_!" Misato hurriedly yanked open the door, and pulled out a large can of Yabisu, which Shinji stormed over and took hold of, if not for Misato hanging onto it, starting up an odd tug of war between the two. "_Give it here_!" Both yelled. Touji and Kensuke couldn't fight back the laughter as the two scuffled over the poor can, while Rei simply contented herself with petting Penpen as the two waited for the drama to end.

Shinji, for his part, was using a small portion of his powers to keep a firm grip on the slippery can, but then exerted too much pressure, and the can ruptured with a single crack, spraying both of them down with the contents. Which was fine and dandy for Shinji, but for Mistato, who was dressed as she normally was at home, in short shorts, and her yellow tank top, it was to be an incident that she would love to forget, if anyone let her.

The Major had gotten the worst of the dousing, which meant her face and entire front of her shirt were now sopping wet with beer. Under normal circumstances, all three boys, Shinji included, would have blushed as brightly as Rei's eyes at the sight of a woman in a wet shirt, as they would have done had their guardian been wearing a bra...

"Oh...wow..." THUD went Touji as he fainted dead away.

"Tatas," Kensuke squeaked, faring no better than Touji as a long, flowing trail of blood sprayed from his nose, and he too fell out of his chair. Shinji, perhaps the luckiest, or unluckiest of the three, given one's perspective, received a hard punch before Misato streaked to her room to change when she realized what the boys had been staring at.

This lead to Shinji settling for ordering pizza for the night, and Rei to wondering why two out of her four housemates had nearly bled to death through the nose for some odd reason or another, while an unseen spectator nearly rolled off of a cloud he'd been sitting on, finding the whole exchange hilarious.

Shinji went to bed that night, slightly proud of his new bike, but with a slightly bruised ego, and a broken nose. Though his chest did hurt a little from the exertion, it had been somewhat worth the pain as he reflected on the battle. Abraham had been right. He was getting too reckless with his fighting. Not only had he felt himself beginning to merge with the Eva, but he could feel his body starting to break apart in the LCL.

It wasn't an experience he was willing to go through again, such as he had during his time in the Sea of Dirac, or his battle against Zeruel. He shivered at the memory of those encounters. Those angels were still some months away, but they were not angels he wanted to underestimate again.

"But I can't go all out like I used to," he said to himself, "Even Dad's worried about me." He rubbed his chest, "Though, Abraham did say I could start using it again when I was more used to the strain."

But then he thought about the trip to meet up with Asuka. That one giant angel had been bad enough, but now the angel was certain that another angel would right behind it. They had barely managed to defeat just the one angel. But two?

Shinji sat up, "Argh, now I'm too worried to sleep!" He got up, and pulled on his pants and socks. Then he snuck out into the hallway. So far he could hear the snoring of three out of his four roommates, knowing that Rei didn't snore, and was a light sleeper. He crept down th hall to the door, and pulled his shoes on. He reached for the knob when a soft coo caught his attention.

He turned to find Penpen looking up at him with a little sadness in his black eyes. Shinji smiled, "Don't worry, I'm just going out to clear my head. I'll be back." Seeming satisfied by this, the warm-water penguin gave a small nod and went back toward Misato's room, where he'd taken up residence until he had his refrigerator set up.

Shinji let out a sigh, "Great, now even the _penguin's_ worried about me." Smiling at the absurdity of the situation, he stepped outside, and walked right to his new bike.

Misato had been sleeping soundly, even though she hadn't drunk a single drop of beer. She'd begun to think that Shinji was right; it's never too late to change, even just a little.

That is until she was awakened by the roar of a motorcycle coming to life.

"What the hell?!" Misato yelped when she sat up. The revving of the engine woke her up completely after she remembered what Shinji had come home riding. "SHINJI!"

Her roar woke up the three remaining pilots. But by the time Misato was decent, Shinji was already speeding away. Misato burst out the door, with Touji, Kensuke, and Rei right behind her.

Touji was half-yawning, half-snickering at his friend's departure, "He's _so_ dead, right, Misato?"

"DAMN RIGHT HE IS!" Misato howled, and ran for her car, leaving the three teens staring after her. All three knew her driving habits, and since they knew that Shinji was new to it, all figured that he had no chance of escape.

xXx

The night sped by as Shinji gunned the throttle. The cool air whipping by kept him wide awake, but the thrill of riding the sleek black bike was more than enough. It was fast, leaving him with no regrets from buying the machine. He never knew something could make him feel so alive like this.

The city lights were flashing by him as he simply rode by for the sake of getting away and enjoying the feel of the speed.

His destination, it turned out, was the hillside shrine that he'd landed on after his battle with Shamshel. He pulled to a stop just at the steps where the road ended. Looking down over the spot where the angel had fell, and the imprint his Eva had made after the landing made him feel incredibly small. The epicenter of the explosion was still being cleaned and repaired even after a month. The first time he fought the angel, he remembered it being a fiasco, with him running away with his tail tucked between his legs, and nearly getting his friends killed in the process.

This time it had ended much the same way, except that Kensuke and Touji had been further away from him instead of right between the fingers of Unit 01. And they had come to his rescue, risking their lives for his. Looking back on it, he wondered if he'd really done the right thing in telling Misato that they could be pilots?

Given the choice, he knew Kensuke would have jumped at the opportunity either way, but Touji, when he'd been chosen as the pilot of Unit 03, had been coerced by his father when the older Ikari had offered to send his sister to a better hospital and have all of her treatments taken care of. Now Shinji was the one that had brought them both in, with full knowledge that they may not survive.

Suddenly, Misato's blue _Renault Alpine A310_ came to a screeching halt in front of him, which made Shinji aware that he was, not for the last time, in deep shit. Misato, dressed in her lite blue pajamas, and slippers, jumped out of the car, casting a glare up at him. "Just _what_ do you think you were doing?" She growled, slamming the car door shut and stalking toward him.

Shinji sighed, and stood his bike up so he could lean on it, "Would you believe I needed to clear my head?" This slowed Misato's advance. Looking up at him, she saw that he had worry lines beginning on his face. Something she knew a fourteen year old should never have.

"If you had something on your mind that was bothering you," she said, finally reaching him and leaning up against the bike beside him, "Then you should have said something."

He shrugged, "After everything that's happened, I don't wanna be a burden to you anymore than I already am." Thinking back to the times he'd knowingly put his life in danger, "I hate to admit it, but everyone's right about my fighting style. I've been reckless."

Misato frowned, "Is that what has you upset? That's nothing to be ashamed of, you know. It's not like you're doing this for fun. You've said it yourself, you're fighting to protect those that are important to you."

Shinji grinned, "And the fact that I pinned two of my friends as Eva pilots?" He said, "What if they didn't want to fight, like me? They may not want to put their lives on the line."

Misato smiled happily, "So that's what this is about! You're feeling guilty!"

"How could I not?" Shinji asked, "Touji has a sister to care for, and I know for a fact that one of the girls at school has a huge, marriage inducing crush on the guy!"

Misato went wide-eyed for a moment, then threw her head back laughing at the boy's words.

"Hey, I'm not kidding!" Shinji protested, "What if I screw up somewhere, and I get them all killed!"

This sobered the woman up. She looked down at the boy in front of her, who was truly a child now. Not the pilot of an Eva, not her roommate, or the person who wrestled beer from her. He was a little boy who was afraid of what might or might not happen.

"Shinji," Misato said, getting his attention by reaching out and pulling him against her chest, something that had teen blushing, "Listen to me. It's that desire to protect that made me believe in you each time I saw you get into the Eva. You hate the thought of your friends getting hurt so much that you're willing to push your body to the very limit to do so, and now, because of that, you have the scar to prove it."

Shinji, finally relaxing from the intimate contact, sighed, "A scar proves nothing."

"This one does," she said, smiling softly, and rubbing his shoulder, "It proves you're brave enough to do something we adults can't. You were nearly killed last time, but you're brushing it off like it was nothing to you except a job hazard."

Shinji gave a wry chuckle, "That's what it is, isn't it?"

She laughed too, "I'll give you that one." She sighed, "And I know that I'll never be able to replace your mother, but I hope you'll come to me when you need to talk about something like this. I'm not just your commanding officer, I'm your guardian, and you've already turned out to be like a son to me." When he heard Misato's voice crack with emotion, he wanted to look up, to know if she was really crying, or if she was putting it on as an act. But he knew better. She was the one person in his previous life that had never lied to him, about anything.

"I never knew my mother," he said, bringing his arms up around her waist, "But with you, I wonder if this is what it feels like to be with my mother."

Misato smiled and reached up to pat his head, "We'll just keep going until we find out. But lord knows what your father's thinking letting you buy this _thing_!"

If a motorcycle could sweatdrop, the _Yamaha_ would have.

xXx

"Is there any word from Kaji, yet?" Gendo asked, pushing up his glasses, "He should almost be done at the base, now, shouldn't he?"

"That remains to be seen," Kozo smiled, "By the way, Gendo, nice going earlier, I was watching on the monitor for Shinji's reaction. You had him quite surprised."

Gendo frowned at him, "That was not funny."

"Oh come now, what harm would it do to be a little nicer to the boy?" He asked.

"Nothing good would come of us being closer at this point," Gendo groaned, "It took all I had not to run from the room."

"And yet when you saw him in that fight against the angel, willing to give his life to defeat the beast, you looked ready to bolt from the room and pilot Unit 00 yourself." Kozo grinned.

Gendo sighed in exasperation, "Just drop it already."

_Beep beep beep_. Kozo picked up the phone, "Yes?"

Gendo waited while the person on the other end spoke, "I see. And the pilot?" Again there was a pause, "Good, she's safe. I trust you have the item? Good. Then...What's that? Another unit? I hadn't heard of anything other than Unit 13 being the last to be made."

Gendo looked up sharply, "What the devil are those old men hiding this time?"

A moment later, Kozo hung up the phone, "That was our Mister Kaji, he has the item, but the Bethany base was damaged by the escape of the detained angel, and Unit 05 self destructed just after killing it."

"I take it that pilot Makinami is safe?" Gendo asked with some concern.

"She is, and is with Kaji on his way to the Over the Rainbow," Kozo smiled, then frowned, "But what has me concerned is that he caught wind of one more Eva unit being built. It's not a numbered unit either. Apparently it is a to be a fail safe if Keel's plans for Third Impact don't go according to his wishes."

"What is the unit called then?" Gendo asked, "I know the US has that experimental unit called Wolfpac, but what other could there be?"

"This one is called Armaros," Kozo said, frowning slightly, "We don't know if there's a pilot or if there will be a pilot. But what we do know from Kaji is that this unit is designed as an _Eva killer_."

* * *

_**Again, another filler down the hatch, but I know this one was pretty crappy. Anyway, a little bit of a catch up in this one, with Unit 05 being destroyed and a mysterious new Evangelion being built in secret. Next comes to meeting between the pilots and the Unit 02 pilot Asuka; You know that's gonna be nuts. And don't forget, two angels are to attack! **_

_**Please review!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**With the last chapter we had some surprising kindness from Gendo, which would spook anyone, let's be honest. With a few sweet moments at home for our little family, and an even sweeter mother/son moment with Misato and Shinji after revealing his doubts about his abilities, with a small portion of his old self rearing it's head. Now with the destruction of the frozen angel, along with Unit 05, Kaji and the young pilot Mari make their way to the battle ship, Over the Rainbow to meet with Asuka as she awaits her greeting party of Misato and the remaining pilots.**_

_**7: The Angel and The Demon**_

* * *

"Why, for the love of God, do I have to wear this?!" Shinji growled, looking at himself in the formal black officer's uniform of NERV, beret included. He felt like an overdressed fool who was on his way to a date with a super model. Which turned his thoughts to Asuka. Her lovely flowing red hair, her bright, blue eyes full of fire, and her long silky -

THUNK

Shinji bonked his head against the mirror, _Don't think about that, don't think about that! You will look away when it happens, or you will get slapped_! He told himself, thinking of when the wind picked up and blew across the deck, lifting her skirt and giving him a spectacular view of her pink -

THUNK

"Shinji, what's that thumping noise?" Misato called from the living room.

Shinji rubbed the small lump forming on his head, "Nothing, just trying to hop into these ridiculous boots you want me to wear!"

Misato laughed from outside his door, "They're not that bad! I'm wearing the same thing!"

"No, you're wearing a skirt, I'm wearing pants! Thank God for that!" Shinji roared, causing to more bursts of laughter to erupt from his two male companions. "Why do we have to wear uniforms, anyway?! Can't we just go casual?"

Misato cracked the door open and, seeing him fully dressed, walked in, "Come on, Shinji, it's not all that bad. Besides, Asuka is a captain, just like you, so you'll want to make a good impression."

"I'm still getting used to the rank," he grumbled, still not believing that what his father had done.

"Look at it this way," Misato grinned, "At least you better dressed than Touji and Kensuke. I always thought those Kaki uniforms were horrible."

"Rei is wearing it as well," he pointed out, straightening his jacket, "And I think those suits are better than this funeral suit!"

Misato snickered, and patted him on the shoulder, spinning him around to make sure he was practically perfect. "I think you're just scared to finally meet the girl you've been interested in since you found out she was coming." She sighed, sounding like a mother, "I swear, you haven't stopped asking about her since I brought it up!"

"She's...interesting." Shinji defended lamely, trying hard not to blush. It was true. For the past week as they prepared everything to meet the arriving pilot and new Eva unit, Shinji had asked Misato everything about her, if only to hide what he already knew about the fiery German. The whole ordeal had led to much teasing on Misato and Touji's part. Rei and Kensuke, which surprised him, kept quiet.

Misato just rolled her eyes knowingly and patted down his shoulders one last time to clear any dust or lint, "You'll be fine. Honestly, she's not that bad, she just comes off as...flamboyant."

_If that's what you want to call it_, Shinji thought, remembering the embarrassment he'd had to endure when she'd made him dress in her spare plug suit. Kensuke had never let him hear the end of it, right up until he left after the thirteenth angel attacked and nearly killed Touji. He shook himself. That was in the past now. He had a new chance to get the future back on track again, and stop any of the tragedies that would have happened.

"I guess I'm ready," he said, looking up at her, "Thanks for the help."

Misato smiled, "There's my widdle man." She reached out and pinched his cheek playfully, "You look so handsome!"

Blushing bright red, Shinji brushed her hand off and strode out his door, his boot heels clipping the floor as he went.

xXx

"Kensuke, for the love of God, calm down!" Misato yelled over the roar of the helicopter. Her bespectacled charge was practically foaming at the mouth as he saw the U.N. Pacific fleet below them. Touji, to his displeasure, kept his hand clamped over the boy's mouth to keep the volume down, as he had started crying out for sheer joy when he first spotted the fleet. Shinji was thankful to him, for he didn't know how long he could keep himself sane from his friend's rambling. Even Rei, the picture of patience, looking a little annoyed.

_God help us when we meet Asuka, _Shinji though, not for the first time that day. He reached up and stretched out his collar, feeling his nervousness coming back. _Just remember not to look! _

The helicopter came to a jaring halt as they landed, allowing Kensuke to be released from Touji's grip, and to run off looking around in wonder at the the air crafts sitting on the deck. Touji followed after him, only, of course, to have his hat blown off by a gust of wind. Naturally he chased after it, cursing the entire time. Rei stepped down next, keeping her hands low to make sure her skirt didn't get caught by the same wind that had snatched up Touji's hat. Shinji sighed and stepped off next, stretching his stiff muscles while Misato came last, rubbing her neck because of a kink.

Touji had nearly caught his hat when some scooped it up from the ground. Touji smiled in relief, looking up in time to have the hat shoved back onto his head.

"Might wanna glue this thing on, NERVling," the strange girl smirked, "It'll keep it on way better."

"Mari, don't tease the kid," another female voice chided, "He's just some dumb jock."

"What'd you say?!" Touji growled in outrage as Misato, Shinji, Rei, and Kensuke finally reached them.

"Well, you sure grown up," Misato smiled, which caught the attention of the second female. The red-haired young woman smiled at her former guardian.

"Yup, and that's not all, my figure's filled out as well," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

Shinji gulped. That was definitely her. She was dressed in the same yellow dress as last time, which was fluttering in the breeze. Misato turned to him and the other two pilots, "Allow me to introduce the pride of the Euro air force, Captain Asuka Langley Shikinami. Asuka, these four are - " The wind chose that exact moment to lift the girl's skirt high above her hips, giving them all an eye full. Shinji had turned just in time; a moment later he heard two distinctive slaps.

"Argh, wha'd you do that for!" Touji roared, while the other girl, Mari, was hunched over laughing.

"That was the viewing fee, quite a bargain, isn't it?" Asuka growled.

"It's over priced, but that's alright," Touji said, and reached for his belt, "Here's your - "

"Stow it, Suzuhara!" Shinji roared before he could pull his pants down, shocking all present. Shinji sighed, collecting himself, "We're here to pick up a pilot, and an Eva unit, not to make a spectacle of public indecency!"

"But she - "

"Shouldn't have worn a dress," Shinji nodded with a slight smirk, "Yes, I know, but that's her decision."

"What did you say?!" Asuka shouted, becoming angry at the black clad stranger, but it was then that she finally took a look at his face, and gasped. It was the pilot from the video she'd received. Captain Ikari, the one she'd been so eager to meet. "Wait, you're the pilot of the Unit 01 Eva, right?"

"I am," he said, stepping forward, offering her a salute, "Captain Shinji Ikari, at your service, Captain Shikinami." A little stunned at the formality, she returned the salute. He was nothing like she expected. He wasn't a rigid military lap dog, or so slack in attitude that he was just plain boring, which impressed her. And, to her pleasant surprise, he was moderately handsome.

"O~h," Mari snickered, giving the red-head a lite elbow in the ribs, "Are you calling dibs already?"

"Wha?! Mari, shut up already!" Asuka shouted, snapping her out of her stupor.

"And who's this?" Misato asked, looking the new girl over curiously, "I was told there was just you, Asuka."

Shinji, and the rest of his group looked over to the new girl. Like Asuka, she had naturally pale skin, but had long brown hair tied back into twin pig tails, and wore pink glasses in front of striking sky-blue eyes.

"Oh, sorry," Asuka said, acting somewhat embarrassed, then gestured to the girl, "This is the Fifth Child, Mari Illustrious Makinami."

"Nice to meet'cha," she said, smiling widely.

Shinji smiled and bowed slightly in respect, "A pleasure. Allow me to introduce your housemates." He gestured behind him to Rei, "Here we have the Unit 00 pilot, Rei Ayanami, this guy with this glasses is the Sixth Child, Kensuke Aida, and the designated pilot of Unit 04." Kensuke smiled and gave the girls a small wave as Shinji turned his attention back to Touji, "And this is the Seventh Child, Touji Suzuhara, pilot of Unit 03."

Asuka looked at the darker skinned boy she'd slapped, "This dummkopf is a pilot? You must be joking!"

"Watch it," Touji growled, to which Misato barely contained a laugh.

"Now, now, take it easy you two," she smiled, "As Shinji said, you're all going to be housemates for the time being, and since we'll all be living together, we should try to get along."

"So we're going to be living with a bunch of boys?" Mari asked, a slight smirk coming to her face, "How fu~n." Asuka eyed her suspiciously before inching away from her.

"Just what is going through that crazy little head of your's, Makinami?" Asuka asked her, though she really didn't want to know.

Mari, however, licked her lips, "Just that our fine captain here smells just like LCL, my favorite smell in the world." Shinji, upon hearing this, blanched a little as the girl came disturbingly close to him. Her eyes narrowed seductively, "Don't suppose you'd be interested in sharing beds, huh?"

"Wha?!" Touji, Kensuke, and Shinji yelped.

Asuka looked downright scandalized, "Sie verkehrte hexe!"

Misato, by now, was shaking with laughter while Rei looked on in bemusement. "I do not understand this concept. Why would sharing a bed be necessary?"

"Oh, Rei," Misato giggled as the two other girls started arguing, "You have so much to learn."

xXx

"Give me a break," the captain of the Over the Rainbow sighed as he looked down at the little group, "We're trusting mankind's future to those children, and the oversized toy?"

"So it would seem, sir," said his lieutenant, "But from what I've heard, that boy there has seen some fierce combat already. Miss Shikinami has a video disc of his three previous battles."

"I could care less," the captain said, "We were once the pride of the US navy, but now look at us. Guard dogs for a children's toy!"

"Sir!" One of the ensigns called, "We've just gotten a hit on the radar. A large cargo ship seems to be trailing us."

"Hail it, and find out why," he growled, "Unless they have a good reason, I don't want any unnecessary distractions."

"What distraction would that be?"

The captain whirled around to find Misato and the children pilots at the door to the bridge. She was smiling pleasantly, even though he could feel a tenseness coming from her.

"So, you must be the one in charge of these _children_," he said, stressing the term, casting his gaze toward Shinji, "After that display on the deck, I thought you might be the _babysitter_."

Misato's eye seemed to twitch, "I am the commanding officer in charge of these pilots." She produced a clipboard from under her arm, "Now, I must ask you to sign this, so that I may take possession of Unit 02 and it's pilot from your care."

"Not just yet," he said, which made Misato grimace visibly, "As long as that plaything is aboard my ship, then I have no need to hand it over until we reach dry land," he said, much to the annoyance of Misato and Shinji, who never did take to his attitude. "The ocean is our jurisdiction, Major."

"Granted," Misato said, the smile returning, "However, should an emergency occur, said emergency being a supposed threat to the Eva, or, heaven forbid, an angel attack, then NERV authorization gives me the power to take command if the need arises, so, keep in mind that should anything happen while I am here, you will follow my orders."

"She's awesome," Touji said dreamily.

"She sounds just like Ritsuko," Shinji muttered out of habit.

"As serious as ever, I see," said a flipant, masculine voice that had Asuka whirling around in delight.

"Kaji!" She squealed, almost making Shinji groan.

"Geh!" Misato turned a shade paler than normal.

"Mister Kaji, how many times must I ask you not to invite yourself onto the bridge!"

xXx

_Non perverted thoughts, think non perverted thoughts! _Shinji chanted over and over again as, somehow, he had gotten his face squished into Misato ample breasts for the second time around in the small elevator. Asuka was, of course, close to Kaji, who was just behind him, and trying not to suffocate him. Kensuke, and Rei were also squished together, though Kensuke seemed to be trying to give her as much room as possible, while Rei had a small smile on her lips as she was resting her head against his shoulder.

Touji, of course, was plastered against the door with Mari leaning on his back as a cushion.

"What are you even doing here?!" Misato growled, perfectly okay with Shinji's position.

"I'm accompanying her, and Mari," Kaji said, "I was Asuka's guardian in Germany, and I managed to rescue Mari from the waters around the base when the Unit 05 proto-type self destructed."

"Talk about bad luck," Misato grumbled, "How in the hell did I end up seeing you again?" Then she and Asuka turned red, "Hey! Watch where you're touching!" The two yelled, but Asuka was yelling at Touji.

"I can't help it!" Kaji and Touji replied to the women. Then Shinji felt someone's foot nudging him in the back side.

"Who's foot is that?!" Shinji squawked.

"Not mine!" Asuka yelled.

"Sorry, I thought you were Misato," Kaji chuckled, making Shinji turn green.

"Stop assaulting my pilot!" Misato growled and kicked out at him.

"Ow!" Mari yelped, "What was that for?!"

"Sorry, I was aiming for Kaji!"

"Whose hand is that?" Touji gagged.

"Sorry," Mari squeaked.

"Kensuke, stop tickling me," Rei giggled suddenly.

"Kensuke!" Shinji roared.

"It's not me, I'm not doin' that!" Kensuke cried, looking a little jealous.

"Woops, sorry about that!" Misato said.

"Shinji you little devil!" Mari giggled with a shiver, "Get your hand of my leg!"

"That's not me!" Shinji yelped.

Mari blanched, "Asuka, _you_ little devil!"

"Oh shut up!" Asuka blushed, "How the hell do we get out of this thing?!"

"Someone hit the stop button," Kaji said.

"I got it," Shiji said, stretching his hand out, but it wasn't a button his fingers touched.

"_WHO THE HELL HAS THEIR HAND ON MY TIT!?_" Asuka screeched.

_Oh shit, _Shinji thought.

_Lucky bastard, _Touji thought.

_Ding_.

xXx

"That was horrible," Shinji groaned later as they sat around the table in the mess hall, "I officially hate elevators!"

"You and me both," Touji said, "At least you didn't have someone sitting on you!"

"I said I was sorry," Mari pouted, twiddling her fingers, "Are you saying I have a heavy butt?"

"That's not the point," Touji grumbled, "What do I look like, a chair?"

"You look like a moron," Asuka piped, then glared at Shinji, who jumped, "And I still haven't paid you back for touching me like that, you perv!"

"I didn't mean it," Shinji growled, "It's not like I could see where I was reaching. If you didn't notice, Misato had my head in her - "

"Alright, alright!" Misato growled, "Enough, it's over now!" She sat back with a huff, crossing her arms.

Truthfully, the only ones that hadn't come out of the elevator harassed, or violated were Kensuke and Rei. Shinji had noticed that the two seemed to be hanging around each other a lot lately, which was a little surprising on Rei's part. She wasn't one to reach out to anyone.

"That was quite a ride, though," Kaji chuckled, who came up with a tray of coffee, "But I bet it wasn't as wild a ride as getting into your Eva for the first time, right, Shinji?"

"Not quite," Shinji said, accepting a cup, "How did you know about me?"

"How could I not?" Kaji asked, raising his cup to him, "You're the famous Third Child that piloted the Eva perfectly on his first attempt, and in battle no less, with a sync rate of eighty-eight."

Shinji shrugged, "I simply wanted keep the people in the city safe."

"Not a lot of people, let alone kids, would do such a thing when they'd just found out about it." Kaji pointed out.

Shinji smirked, "I'm not like most kids," he said truthfully, "My dad is Gendo Ikari, king of all things dark and gloomy. How was I supposed to turn out? A wimp with no spine?"

Misato chuckled, "That's kinda what I was expecting." She said sheepishly, drawing looks of disbelief, "Don't take it the wrong way, I'm happy that I was wrong, but I honestly expected someone meek, and downright withdrawn. The way you handled Ritsuko and the commander was incredible. You're a hero to some of the staff that fear him."

"I'm no hero," Shinji sighed, "I'm just doing what's right, and giving Dad a little of his own medicine. He has a lot more coming if I have my say about it."

"No hero, huh?" Touji grinned, "Tell that to my little sister. She can't shut up about the _cool purple robot_ that tossed the monster across the city, and kept it from stepping on her."

"Hey, that's my job," Shinji countered, "I'm supposed to keep those things from hurting anyone."

Kensuke chuckled, "Let me ask you something; What's on your mind every time you get in the entry plug? I mean, sure you wanna protect everyone, but what else? There's gotta be more!"

Misato and Kaji looked toward the young pilot, as did Asuka and Mari. For Misato, she already knew part of why he piloted the Eva, but what went through his mind before a fight? She didn't know.

Shinji leaned back in his seat, taking a long drink of coffee, "Honestly? The only thing that goes through my head even before I get into the Eva is _am I going to die today_? Then when I'm fighting, my one focus is destroying the angel as soon as possible with as little damage as I can manage to keep the city, and it's people safe."

Asuka felt a small tugging sensation in her chest at his words. "You mean pride has nothing to do with it?"

"No way," he shook his head, "If I had any pride," he tugged against his collar again, "I wouldn't be in this _monkey suite_!"

This got a laugh out of Kensuke and Touji, and a few chuckles from Kaji and Misato. Mari just grinned at him, "I don't know, Shinji, I think you look pretty damn cute in that."

Asuka scoffed, "You think _any_ male is cute."

"True," she said, "But I gotta say, those eyes of his really do it for me."

"Ahem," Shinji coughed uncomfortably, "Moving along, what happened at the base that caused that angel to escape?"

Mari tapped her finger against her chin, "Not a clue, I was on stand-by while my Eva was being outfitted with its arms when the thing broke loose. Then I was scrambled to fight in a unit that barely had the arms attached half an hour before."

"Damn, that must have been nuts," Touji breathed, "But I'm thinking Shinji here could have done something to make sure that thing never got away without destroying his Eva. He fights like he has nothing to lose."

"Do not," Shinji said evenly as he sipped his coffee.

"Says the guy that has a scar on his chest from an energy beam fired by an angel, and had internal bleeding around his lungs afterward because he pushed his sync rate to near dangerous levels." Kensuke said, to which Rei nodded silently.

Asuka looked at him, "He has a scar?"

"Yes," Rei answered, "The beam from the angel was so powerful that it nearly pierced through the Eva, which would have obliterated the plug. The strain of having it focused on one spot for so long with the sync rate so high has given Shinji a permanent scar on the center of his chest."

"Yeah, if Rei here hadn't fired that last shot, Shinji would have bit it for sure!" Touji grinned, nudging Shinji in the ribs.

Shinji rolled his eyes and shoved the boy away, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Speaking of the Evas," Kaji said, "I think that cargo ship the captain was talking about is carrying one of the other units on board."

"WHAT?!" Touji and Kensuke roared in unison, "WHICH ONE?!"

Kaji's grin twitched a little with the effort to stay in place, "I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure it's Unit 04, since I heard that Unit 03's ship is having some difficulties."

"What's wrong with my Eva?" Touji asked, his face full of worry.

"Nothing," Kaji assured him, "The ship just had a little engine trouble half-way here. This cargo ship just barely passed it by. It'll take a few more weeks to arrive is all."

Touji sighed in relief, "That's good," he said, "I won't have to be a burden much longer."

"Touji, come on, you know that's not true," Shinji said, taking his friend by the shoulder, "I heard from Ritsuko that you could pilot Unit 00 just as well as Kensuke could. If Rei gets hurt, and can't pilot, you can take her place if you need to. And now I'll have Asuka as back up, and Kensuke once he gets some plug time with his Eva."

"Yeah, don't sweat it," Kensuke said, smiling, "We'll keep him alive."

"Actually, I think I'll be keeping you alive," Shinji laughed, getting growls from both Kensuke and Asuka. But the red-haired girl couldn't stay angry at him for some reason.

Mari turned to her with a sly grin, "Asuka, what's that little smile for?"

Asuka blushed, "S-s-shut up, I'm not smiling!"

"Oh, but you were!" Mari sang, "Come on, out with it!"

"Leave me alone!" The girl huffed and turned away. Of course, Mari was about to continue her torment when the alarm blared out.

"What the hell?!" Misato yelled, "What's going on!"

"I think I know," Shinji growled, rising from his chair, "And I hope I'm wrong. Asuka, get to your Eva as quick as possible. Kensuke, you and I will find a life boat and head to that cargo ship!"

"Wait a minute!" Kaji yelled as Asuka, looking a little miffed at being ordered around headed for the door, "You can't mean it's an angel?!"

"In this line of work it's best to expect the unexpected!" Shinji yelled over his shoulder as he and Kensuke headed for the stairs, "And Misato, I don't know what good it'll do, but tell the captain to man the guns, and give Unit 02 all the support it needs until I can get Kensuke to Unit 04!"

"Right!" Misato said, "Touji, Mari, Rei, come with me."

"Coming," Touji said.

"Right behind ya." Mari chirped, while Rei followed after them silently.

xXx

Shinji found a dingy easily enough, and had it lowered just as fast. The problem was the angel...it wasn't Gaghiel. This angel, as far as he knew, had no known name, because even Abraham hadn't mentioned anything about this one. This angel was bipedal, standing on stilt-like legs, with a body made of jumbled up pieces. A small red orb floated above the head, while a larger one connected the shoulders and legs. Also a pendulum swung freely between the legs.

Kensuke paled when he saw the things so close to them, "How are we going to fight that thing?"

"We'll find a way, Ken, just trust me," Shinji said, keeping the boat at top speed, "I just hope Asuka can handle it until we get you suited up!"

"O-okay," the boy said nervously, but the yelped as the angel's face spun like a clock face and opened up to four points as a flash of energy shot out. One of the ships was impaled by the light, lifting it out of the water on a fiery cross, and blowing it in half.

"Dammit!" Shinji roared, "Asuka, hurry!"

It was then that the tarp on top of one of the ships rose up, a huge arm whipping it away, revealing the red giant the was Unit 02. The Eva jumped from the ship toward the Over the Rainbow where the umbilical cable lay, plugging itself in. Shinji noted the wing-like attachments to the shoulders, and grinned, "That's S-type flying equipment!"

"What's that attached to the back?" Kensuke asked, looking at a rectangular piece of equipment in the middle of the back.

"I think that's the product model Super-Electromagnetic Crossbow." Shinji grinned, "That's designed for long-range combat against AT-Fields."

"Great! We've got a chance then!" Even as he said that, another ship was hit by something from below. An enormous white body rolled under the surface where the ship was beginning to go down. "No, is that another one?"

"Afraid so," Shinji growled, "Don't worry, we'll get through this, Kensuke."

xXx

"Damn, there's two of them!" Asuka shouted when she saw the attack on the other ship. The battleships had already opened fire on the bipedal angel that was advancing on the main ship. It seemed to be the less dangerous of the two, even though it had the greater body mass, considering the walking angel was taller, with the core well out of reach.

The cargo ship was nearing them, even as Shinji and Kensuke powered through the water, ignored by the two angels, thankfully. But the thought of taking down two angels before Shinji got the other Eva going was...tempting. If anything, she wanted him to see how good she could be. _He_? She thought to herself,_ What the hell am I thinking?! Kaji is the one I want_!

Asuka was brought out of her thoughts as pieces of the skeletal angel fell from the body and started raining down on the ships like homing missiles. "That one has to go first." She ground out, reaching for her weapon, "Eva Unit 02, moving out!" The thrusters on her S-type attachments roared to life as the Eva lifted off the deck of the ship.

She had the unit going straight up like a rocket, the equipment not fully design for flight except for slowing her descent when needed, but it would serve her purpose if she could get high enough above the angel. The bow of her crossbow sprang out as she reached the half way mark. But now she had a problem; which core was the real one?

The smaller one, the one that would be hardest to hit, seemed likely to be a decoy. The one below, larger, and more obvious had to house the real core. Using the thrusters to their max, Unit 02 shot over the angel, disconnecting her umbilical cable and going to emergency power. She then angled herself down, and shot through the air at the larger core, taking aim with her crossbow.

The bow exploded five shots one after the other, coming up against the angel's AT-Field, and the end of the bolts themselves. "Hiyaaaah!" Asuka roared as her Eva spun through the air with a flying drop kick, slamming into the first bolt, slicing the one in front of it in half, and kept going until she reached the AT-Field, and punched through. "Yes!" The Eva's foot connected with the core as it burst out the other side, and burst in a bloody mess as the angel started falling to pieces, then exploded in its own cross of energy.

"_Way to go, Asuka!" _Misato yelled over the link, "_That was great!"_

"Thanks, but what about Shinji and that stooge of his?!" Asuka yelled, "I don't see the other Unit yet!"

"_I've just gotten word from the crew of the cargo ship, and Shinji and Kensuke are just about to activate the Eva." _Misato said, _"I'll need you to back them up, Kensuke's never had to fight before_."

"Wunderbar," Asuka sighed sarcastically.

xXx

"That's one down," Shinji sighed with relief, he turned back to the now suited up Kensuke, "And one to go, you ready, Kensuke?" Kensuke, though nervously, nodded.

"I'm good," he said shakily, "Let's go."

"Okay, come on, then." Shinji guided his friend around the covered body of the Eva as the ship shook with the force of the Gaghiel swimming under them. The crew of the ship was waiting for them. Shinji gave them all a hard look, "Get that covering off, and ready the entry plug, we've got an angel to kill!"

"Sir!" Was the collective shout that rang out as the men and women set to work readying everything for the pilot. To Shinji's surprise, Unit 04 was armed with a replica of the Lance of Longinus, and a shield, a true close-range combat unit. The Eva itself was a silvery white in color, with grey bindings like the green ones on his Unit 01, the unit remarkably resembled Unit 03 in looks.

Kensuke stopped a moment to admire the giant. "It's beautiful!"

"It's _yours_," Shinji told him, "That lance there is a powerful anti-angel weapon. One hit is all you'll need, and remember, Asuka will be there to help you."

"Yeah," Kensuke nodded, his nerves gone.

"Entry plug ready, Captain," a crew member said, "We're ready for the pilot!"

"And the pilot is ready to kick some ass," Kensuke said for himself, and strode forward without any prompting to the entry plug.

xXx

"Dammit, stop moving around!" Asuka yelled angrily as she tried to get a bead on the angel, but the leviathan kept swerving and diving beneath the surface too fast for her to get a lock on it. And her crossbow was running out of ammo. "Where the hell is Unit 04?!"

"_He's on his way, just keep that thing away from the ships!" _Misato yelled, sounding a little desperate, but the both their fears seemed to evaporate as the loading doors of the cargo ship were blown off, and out raised a white giant, lance and shield in hand.

"Finally!" Asuka sighed, "What took you so long?!"

"Sorry, the prep time took a little longer than expected," Kensuke smiled over the link, "But I'm ready and willing!"

"Great, now get rid of his Moby Dick wanna-be!" She yelled with a small smile of her own.

Kensuke grinned, hefting the lance, "Right."

"_Pilot Aida_?" Rei's face appeared on the screen.

"Y-yeah, Rei?"

"..._Be careful_." The feed cut off then, but Kensuke thought he saw a small blush on the girl's face before she left him.

"She...she said be careful..." a huge blush ran across his face, "Does she like m - "

"_Focus, Ken_!" Shinji roared as his link popped up, "_Fight, now, romancing my sister later_!"

"Sister?!" Kensuke yelped.

"_Later_!" Shinji barked, leaving no room for arguments.

R-Right!" Kensuke stammered. "Where's the angel?"

"Coming at you from below, on your right!" Asuka yelled, "The core is inside the mouth, so nail that thing when it tries to grab you!"

"Roger that!" Kensuke growled, falling into his military mode, and raising the shield up in front of his Eva as the angel broke the surface with it's dorsal fin and mask, "Come on!"

Gaghiel submerged again, then burst out of the water, revealing its size to all around. Kensuke began to sweat as the angel careened toward him with it's gaping mouth open, showing row after row of dagger-like teeth, the core of the beast visible at the back of its throat. Kensuke steeled himself, bracing for the impact as the angel came crashing down on his shield. The strain of the angel's weight nearly toppled the Eva, and the ship, but Kensuke held on, moving his Eva's feet as he needed, and hurled the angel into the air above him.

Gaghiel roared in rage and, if one could call it that, indignation as it was sent flying. Kensuke grinned, pulling back Unit 04's arm, and hurled the lance at the beast. The lance's twin spear head spiraled into a single sharp point as it flew, impaling the angel through the throat, piercing the core. Kensuke beamed as the angel's body convulsed, bubbling around the lance, and burst in a crimson torrent that poured down over the sea, mixing in with the already red waters, and drenching the once white Evangelion.

The lance spun back down to earth as Unit 04 raised its hand to catch it.

"I did it," Kensuke breathed out, "I really did it!"

"_You sure did," _Shinji smiled at him, "_That was excellent, Kensuke!" _

_"_Thanks," the boy sighed, leaning back in his seat, "But man, this is gonna take some getting used to. The simulations were nowhere near anything like this!"

"_The Eva will have recorded this battle into the memory banks, so the simulations can be upgraded to use these two angels," _Shinji chuckled, "_You'll do better than this, I can promise you!"_

"I'm just glad to finally be of use," Kensuke said, smiling at his friend, then frowned, "By the way, what the hell was that when you said Rei was your sister?"

"_Geh_," Shinji paled, "_You remember_?"

_"He's not the only one_!" Misato, and Touji roared, nearly deafening both pilots.

xXx

Sitting on a cloud high above the sea, Abraham was looking down with a smile on his face. "Well done, Shinji, you certainly don't need me anymore," he sighed, "At least not for some time."

His body began to fade into nothing as he returned to his home, albeit a little trouble, "I'm sorry that I cannot prepare you for the battles that comes next. I feel these will test you beyond what's been done already."

With that, he faded away, leaving Shinji behind with a new team, a larger family, and a headache as he had to explain a few things.

* * *

_**And that is chapter 7 folks! Finally got it down for Unit 02 and 04 added in for one hell of a debut! As you can guess, there will be more...controlled chaos in the family, but not without a few laughs along the way. Here's a little head's up, what happens when three guys, and four girls live under the same roof? XD This is going to be so much FUN!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**There's no method to my madness, except to entertain! For the benefit of the readers, Unit 01 in this story is the one from the canon anime. Though it was said to be created from Adam like the other Units, it was never made clear which Angel it really came from, but for future reference, combining with an Angel will not initiate an Impact...we'll save that for later ;)**_

_**8: The Gathered Pilots** _

* * *

The rest of the hourney to Tokyo-3 was uneventful. A fact that Shinji was grateful for. Both Evas had taken little to no damage at all from the battle, and Kensuke had preformed his task surprisingly well for a first time pilot. Upon returning to the ship, he was greeted by Rei. The normally emotionless girl had taken hold of his wrist and refused to let go, only saying, "I do not wish to let go." As for Shinji, he had much explaining to do once Misato, Touji, and Kensuke had settled down from asking him how Rei could possible be his sister.

Asuka and Mari, curious about the situation, listened as well as Shinji explained. He explained, or rather lied, that Rei was his twin, raised by a relative of his mother, whom he'd only learned about through someone from NERV, and was deemed a secret. Rei, knowing this to be false, held her tongue, and nodded with each statement that Shinji made. She, of course, had found out through Shinji, as he explained, when he let it slip out by calling her sis to her face. This being the truth, he found it easier to get out than everything else.

Misato, never knowing, or expecting, Shinji to lie, bought it. As did the two other male pilots. As for Asuka and Mari, neither of them truly cared, and just nodded when he was finished.

For Shinji, it was an experience he hoped he'd never have to go through again.

It was later that he began to see something that worried him. Kensuke was looking paler and paler by the hour. Even as Rei kept a hold on his hand, both were trembling. Something that didn't go unnoticed by said girl as a look of concern crossed her face. "Kensuke, why are you shaking?"

Kensuke tensed, "I-I'm not shaking, Rei," he lied, "What gave you that idea?"

Shinji stepped forward, and grabbed his other wrist, which let him feel the other boy's pulse hammering away through his veins. "It's more than that, Kensuke," he said, and looked over at Misato, "It's a light anxiety attack. He'll need bed rest, and something to calm his nerves. Tea, alcohol, whatever we have on hand."

"Shinji!" Kensuke yelped, as the pilot dragged him, and, by connection, Rei, down the hall to the barracks. "Really, I'm fine! It's just a little low blood pressure!"

Shinji halted midstep and rounded on him, "Look me in the eye and say that!" Kensuke opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't. Shinji's stormy blue eyes pierced right through him, making his denial impossible. Shinji sighed, "Listen to me, Kensuke, no one goes through something like that and walks away whistling show tunes! Look at me," he gestured to himself, "Do I seem like a normal kid?"

"Yeah, but - "

"No, Kensuke," Shinji cut him off, "I wasn't always like this, nowhere near it." He said, taking a deep breath, "I was a coward that always ran away from things, just like Misato expected me to be, but that all changed when I decided that I didn't want to keep being afraid all my life! Then my dad called for me, and hired me to fight in a giant purple monster against another monster. The only thing that kept me from running away right there is that look in my his eye that said, _Go ahead, run, I dare you!_ that drove me to snapping. Then I had nightmares, Kensuke."

"Nightmares?" Kensuke squeaked.

"Damned right," Shinji nodded, "As big as these things are, don't you think that, after the battle was done, and I came down from the adrenaline rush, I worried about the people that could have gotten caught under _my_ foot?"

"But that didn't happen." Rei said, though her voice sounded quieter than usual.

"Could have, should have, would have, what does it matter?" Shinji said, sighing, "It didn't keep my worries away. What if I stepped on someone? What if I didn't kill the angel? What if I got myself killed?" Shinji rattled off, "Those are the questions that come after the battle, Kensuke, Rei." He looked at them both, "This is the life I chose. And now it's the life we have to live until the last angel is dead, and all of our friends and family are safe."

He then returned to dragging the connected pair to the barracks, Kensuke, all the while, thinking about what Shinji had said.

Shinji shoved open a door to an empty room and led them in. "Okay, Kensuke, your pulse is still too high, we need to get it down."

"How?" Kensuke asked.

"Sit down and take deep breaths," Shinji instructed, doing so himself on the bunk opposite of Kensuke and Rei, "Whatever questions that are running through your mind; tune them out. Whatever doubts you have; they don't exist. Focus on the fact that you are here and alive because you did not fail in your mission."

"Right." Doing as he was told, he took a deep breath, focusing on the picture of Gaghiel's body exploding as his lance had pierced it.

"That's good," Shinji smiled, looking over at Rei, "How's his pulse now?"

"Better, and it's slowly becoming normal." She said, her small smile creeping back, "This is not your first time calming someone like this?"

"Actually, it is," Shinji said, sheepishly, "It's how I calmed myself down a lot."

"It works," Kensuke sighed, yawning, "But now I feel tired."

"That's the mental exhaustion that comes from a first battle," Shinji explained, "It hit me right after mine. It's best you get some sleep."

"Hey, I got that drink you wanted," Misato yelled, appearing in the door with a bottle of whiskey, "How's he doing?" Behind her were Touji, Asuka and Mari, all looking a little concerned for their fellow pilot.

"Good," Shinji chuckled, "And I don't think he'll be needing that." Misato's face lit up when he said that, but quickly turned to a frown when he reached out and releaved her of it, "And neither will you."

"Hey! After the day I've had, don't you think I deserve a little drink?!" Misato whined, much to Asuka and Mari's amusement.

Touji snickered, "Here we go again."

"There's no such thing as a little drink with you, Misato!" Shinji laughed, keeping the bottle well out of her reached as he got up and left the room, "Rei, keep an eye on him, will you?"

"I will," she said with, if Shinji heard it right, a hint of happiness in her voice.

Shinji frowned, "Kensuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Do anything to my sister, and I'll make you wish that angel had eaten you." Shinji growled, making Kensuke blush, and gulp at the same time. When Shinji looked at him like that, he believed him.

"Hey," Asuka said, "Where's Kaji?"

"Argh, he took a powder, that jerk!" Misato growled slowly following Shinji, "While you two were fighting, he took off in a jet!"

"Hmph," Mari huffed, "Some guy you got there, Asuka."

"What? He's a lover, not a fighter," Asuka sighed dreamily, "He's just so cool!"

"Blegh," Mari spat, "If that's your definition of cool, then you don't know what cool is." She cast a glance at the retreating form of Shinji, "Now my definition of cool is someone that takes command in a bad situation and turns it around. And someone that's dependable."

Asuka looked at her, "You talking about Captain Ikari?"

Mari sighed, "You know you don't have to use his rank, but yes, Asuka. Come on, he's just as young as we are, and like you, he's a captain, and an experienced pilot with three kills under his belt!"

"I know!" Asuka groused, "It makes him the perfect rival!"

Mari hummed in appreciation, "Perfect piece of ass if you ask me." She purred as she looked the boy over. Asuka blushed as her eyes wandered over Shinji's rear. Then shook herself. Mari caught it, "Ah, looks like you have noticed. Tell you what, we could always share him?"

"Ugh, you're disgusting!" Asuka shouted, and stomped away.

"Is that a yes?" Mari asked, following after her with a wide grin.

"No! Most definitely not!" The red-head shouted.

"Oh, come on, Red, I heard two may be good, but three's fun!" The brunette taunted, seeing the bright blush on the girl's face.

"Argh!" Asuka yelled, and sprinted away with Mari laughing away behind her as she gave pursuit.

xXx

"Come on, just one?" Misato whined, practically begging, "I've been dry the whole month thanks to you, so one little glass shouldn't hurt, right?"

Shinji sighed, "Like I said, there's no such thing as a little with you, be it a glass or a bottle."

"I could pull rank," Misato threatened.

"Over a bottle of booze?" Shinji asked, looking back at her in shock.

Misato sighed in defeat, "Yeah, like I'd ever do that."

Touji grinned, "That's another one for Shinji, Misato."

"Stuff it," Misato snapped, then smiled, "But you're right. Shinji's seriously good at talking his way through a lot of things. I'm really impressed by the way he handled Kensuke back there."

Shinji shrugged, "That's nothing. I went through similar things. Remember when you spoke to me after the third angel attacked, Misato?"

"Yeah, how could I forget?" She asked, "You took it all pretty well. I was expecting something more along the lines of Kensuke's reaction."

Shinji smiled, "You talked me down before it could all sink in."

They made their way back to the cafeteria where Shinji quickly took a seat and placed his head on the table with the bottle still clutched in his hand. Misato sat beside him, giving his back a small rub. "You okay?"

"That's a good question," Shinji said, sighing, "I've got a bad feeling, that's all."

"About what?" Touji asked, sitting on his other side, "You did great out there today, man, even if you weren't the one that killed the angels, you got Kensuke to man up and fight, and the she-devil actually listened to your orders." He said, becoming more impressed with each second, "You're a born leader."

Shinji grinned, "That's not what I'm worried about."

"Then what?" Misato asked softly, "Is this the same thing that had you riding out of the house last month?"

Shinji shook his head, "Not quite. It's these last two angels. There were two of them this time. The last three times they attacked, it's always been one, but this time they attacked in a pair, nearly overwhelming us."

Misato sat back in her chair, thinking, "That is something to think about. It's strange that two would attack. Our sources didn't say anything about that big one that Asuka killed. Nothing like it. I mean there are several variations of angels."

"What sources are those?" Shinji asked, raising his head.

"The Dead Sea Scrolls," Misato sighed, "They found them shortly after Adam started second impact. They predicted eighteen angels of destruction descending upon mankind to bring about their end. But things have changed," she said, "Commander Ikari was told that a strange angel was found in the ice around the Bethany base, which we now know was responsible for the destruction of an unfinished Evangelion. And now we have this one that recently attacked. Those two had no descriptions in the scrolls."

"Terrific," Shinji sighed, rising from his seat, and going after a few glasses, returning to the table when he had them, "I think we've all earned this."

Touji raised an eyebrow, "Really? You and me drinking?"

"NERV allows such comforts to the pilots," Shinji said, twisting the cap off the bottle, "Besides, one drink won't do anything. As long as it's just one." He cast a pointed look at Misato, who had begun looking hopeful.

As Shinji poured each of them a glass, Asuka and Mari came blundering in, the former trying to get away from the latter. The look on Asuka's face was one of outrage, while Mari was smiling happily as she gave chase, but both halted in their little game as they caught sight of trio.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Mari asked, seeing Shinji holding a glass of the amber liquid.

"Having a drink," Misato said, "And discussing the recent angle attack."

"And you need a drink to do that?" Asuka asked, looking a little disgusted. "And aren't the good captain and his stooge still underaged?"

"I was just telling Touji that NERV allows this as a comfort to the pilots," Shinji said, sitting back down, "Apparently the battles were to be more traumatizing than what we've experienced. Or what Kensuke nearly went through."

Touji, not really caring for the red-head's flared up attitude at their drinking, simply threw his drink back. The liquid was smokey in flavor, and seared his throat all the way down, nearly making him gag.

Misato chuckled as she sipped her's, "The trick is to take small sips, and not gulp it down."

"Yeah," Touji wheezed, "I'll remember that!"

Shinji rolled his eyes and took a sip of his own. Like Touji, it burned his throat, but not as badly since he took only a little, but he didn't really care for it. He made a note not to drink again.

"So," Mari began, taking a seat at the table, "These last two angels were different somehow?"

Shinji nodded, "One of them was. The one Asuka took down wasn't supposed to exist."

Asuka's eyes went wide at that, prompting her to take a seat across from the veteran pilot, "What do you mean by that?"

"What he means," Misato said, "That's it was an unexpected surprise that another angel showed up right along side the other. This is the first time they attacked in pairs. Plus the angel you destroyed was unfamiliar to us. We knew that there was angel that could swim, but this one was a shock. And it caused more damage than it's comrade did." She took a long sip of her drink, "Four ships went up in smoke without even getting a chance to evacuate the crew."

Asuka's face twitched, "I'm sorry."

"Stop that," Shinji said, reaching out to tap the back of her hand, "We couldn't save them. End of story. If I were you, I'd feel the same way, but then I'd look at the lives I managed to save."

Mari smiled as her friend blushed at the light contact between her and the Unit 01 pilot, but let any teasing she wanted to push toward the two slide for the moment. "I guess this is something you've gotten used to?" She asked.

Shinji shook his head, "I'll never get used to seeing people die, Mari. That's something I never want to happen, because that'll mean I lost myself along the way."

Asuka cocked her head curiously, "You really expect to be the same person after all this is over?"

Shinji laughed, "I'm not that naive, Asuka. I've already changed beyond anything I've ever thought possible for me."

Touji sighed, finding his voice again, "I still owe you for saving my little sister," he said, raising his now empty glass toward him, "I don't care how much I change, I intend to repay you in full for that."

Shinji grinned and raised his own glass to tap against his, "Just don't get yourself killed. I know a certain young lady that would never forgive me if that happened."

Touji, thinking he meant his sister, nodded, "That kid can be pretty scary when she wants to be."

"Not who I meant," Shinji chuckled, "But true all the same."

xXx

Kensuke felt like he was dreaming, or close to it. He was lying on his bunk, warm, comfortable, even with the rolling of the ship, and relaxed after his talk with Shinji. After that he'd laid his head against the pillow and quickly fallen asleep. He didn't know how long he'd slept, but it felt good, or what had woke him, but he felt better as he started to stretch. But stopped when he felt a weight on his chest.

A weight that was breathing. "R-rei?"

"Hmm," came the soft sigh of the girl in question, making Kensuke more aware of their position. He was lying on his back, staring up at the bunk above him, while Rei had, whether by choice or by accident, now lay across his chest, breathing lightly in her sleep.

_Oh, man, Shinji's gonna kill me! _He thought frantically. "Um, Rei, maybe this isn't thebest place to take a nap?" He said, giving her a gentle nudge. This did little good as Rei sighed and moved closer. Kensuke gulped, "Okay, maybe I should move then?" Again, this was fruitless. Rei, upon feeling him try to move, held onto his shirt with a death grip that would rival that of Hikari's strangle-hold when she was angry at Touji.

"Ugh, this is bad," Kensuke sighed, but didn't really mind the situation. Rei had caught his attention th first time she'd walked into the classroom. Her cold attitude had warded him off at first, but then Shinji had shown up, and, slowly, she'd begun to open up to all of them. Now, as a pilot, he could relate to her more. He had so many questions he wanted to ask her about her time as a pilot, and how she put up with it all.

His first time as a pilot, Kensuke had managed, mostly by pure luck and coaching by Shinji, to defeat his first angel, suffering from a light anxiety attack afterwards without even noticing it until Rei had noticed. And it was Rei that had settled his nerves just before he'd launched his lance at the angel after telling him to be careful, leading him to an unanswered question: how did she see him. As a pilot, or something more?

"Hmm," the girl sighed again, drawing his attention back to her, "So warm."

Kensuke blushed, "Just what are you dreaming about?"

xXx

"Come on, Misato, don't lean on me so much!" Shinji growled as he supported his guardian's weight while Touji took the other side. Of course Misato had taken more than a fair share of the liquor, while both Shinji and Touji had stopped after a single glass, Misato had downed the entire bottle as Asuka and Mari cheered her on when the two boy's had tried to take it from her.

"I never thought she'd be such a lush," Touji said good-naturedly, "But you know she kinda deserved this after putting up with an asshole captain, an ex boyfriend, and a pair of angels."

Shinji sighed in defeat, conceeding the point. "The worst thing about it is that she won't feel a damn thing when she wakes up."

"What's that say about us?" Touji asked with a hint of laughter in his voice, "I'm feelin' kinda buzzed over here, man."

"Yeah, me too, but I don't think one glass is enough for a hangover," Shinji said, silently hoping he was right.

"Guess it depends on how you handle it." Touji surmised as they turned into Misato's designated room. Shinji ducked away from her shoulder and bent to get a hold of her ankles as he and Touji lifted her into the bed. The major never even stirred as she was placed down, and rolled over in her sleep to get comfortable.

Shinji chuckled, "Wish I could sleep like that."

Touji raised his eyebrow at him, "Willing to risk the consequences?"

"No thanks," Shinji laughed, raising his hands in surrender. "Come on, we should head to bed, too. No telling if getting to port tomorrow will be a good thing or bad."

"Oh, come on," Touji said, reaching an arm around his friend's shoulder, "Enough with the gloomy attitude. Keep that up, and people will start calling you Gendo junior."

"Anything but that," Shinji laughed. He reached up and clapped the taller boy on the shoulder, "Honestly, I can't wait to get back home."

"Miss your bike?" Touji grinned enviously.

"Yes," he sighed sheepishly, causing his friend to laugh.

"Don't be embarrassed, Shinji, that thing's a sweet ride. I bet Asuka would love a ride on it." He grinned, giving Shinji a nudge in the ribs. Shinji grumbled and shoved him away.

"Hey, don't get any ideas," Shinji said.

"Uh-huh, right, like I didn't see the look you gave her when we got here!" Touji taunted. Shinji growled and took a swipe at him, but the larger boy jumped out of the way laughing. "Whoa-ho there, Shinji, if I didn't know any better, I'd say I hit a nerve with that one!"

"I'll hit something!" Shinji roared, lunging after him again as Touji pelted down the hall, oblivious to the eyes that were watching them.

Asuka and Mari peeked around the corner, having followed them in case either boy tried anything with the drunken major.

"He...has a bike?" Asuka said in interest.

Mari licked her lips, "Oh, yeah, I'm gonna love living with these guys." Asuka looked at her with a grimace. Mari grinned, "But it looks like he already has the hots for you, Princess, so don't worry."

"I'm not worried about that!" Asuka snapped, blushing crimson, "I told you I'm only interested in Kaji!"

"Your loss," Mari shrugged, turned to go back down the hall, "But that bike ride sounds like it'd be worth your while."

"Grr," Asuka growled, and stalked after her, "Why'd I have to room with such a fruit cake?" But her thoughts were already on what it would be like to ride an actual motorcycle. She'd always wanted to try it, but never had the chance with all the training she'd gone through.

Then there was the thought of leaning against someone's strong back as the wind whipped by. She wanted to picture Kaji doing something like that, but her thoughts kept turning the rider into Shinji.

She shook her head, "Don't think about it. He's cute, but not as cute as Kaji!" Then she stopped herself. Since when did she think he was cute? "Argh! Mari, you're going to drive me crazy at this rate!"

Mari looked back over her shoulder, "No need for me to do that, Red, you're doing fine on your own."

Asuka grumbled at her, but said little else, not wanting to give her anything else to tease her about. Mari, however, didn't need anything else. "So tell me you're not thinking about it?" She said with a gleam in her eyes that made the German girl nervous.

"Thinking of what?" She asked tentatively.

Mari gave a predatory grin, "About riding behind him on that bike of his. The wind blowing past, your arms around his sexy little body, and - "

"That's it!" Asuka roared, going for her throat, to which Mari quickly ducked away, laughing.

"Ah, ah, ah, Princess, no touchy!" Mari laughed, dodging again when Asuka rounded on her.

"You are such a pain!" Asuka growled, giving chase.

"That's not what he said!" Mari giggled.

x-Japanese NERV base-x

"That's quite a tail, Kaji." Gendo said, looking over the documents the man had brought in only moments earlier, "So, Seele really doesn't have all that much faith in my work?"

Kaji sighed, "No, it would appear not." He said, "You realize what's going to happen once they find out that you have _this_, don't you?" He held up the briefcase he'd brought with him. "It'll be an all out war on this facility."

Gendo smiled, "Not quite so true, Kaji. The Bethany base was badly damaged, and this item could have easily gotten destroyed in the chaos, correct?"

Kaji offered him a crooked smile, "Quite the devious mind you have, Commander Ikari."

"I didn't end up where I am today by being a fool, Kaji." He said, "Now, did you witness the battle between the two new Evas and these angels?"

"I had my pilot hover over the ships high enough that no one would notice, but yes, I did." He said, remembering how well both pilots had preformed, "From what I saw, neither Unit 02 or Unit 04 were damaged, thanks to Shinji and his quick thinking, both angels were destroyed in record time."

"That's good to hear," Gendo said, a small hint of pride creeping into his voice, "What about the cargo ship that was carrying Unit 03?"

"Still being repaired," Kaji shrugged, "They're starting suspect sabotage because the engine seems to have been doused with some sort of acid. It won't stop them from getting here, but it will take a little more time to get here than I first thought."

"A small matter, now that we have Unit 02 and 04, we have more than enough back up for the time being." Gendo said, rising from his seat, "But it troubles me that an unknown angel attacked, right along side another. Where did it come from?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" Kaji asked, "Where do any of the angels come from? No one's determined that yet, except the Seed of Life theory, which leads us to believe that the angels can spring up anywhere they choose, so long as one of these seeds exists in the area."

"You are half right," Gendo said, "The Seed of Life theory pertains to how life on this planet began. It states that these seeds were spread across the galaxy by the First Ancestral Race, to give life to dead planets. The Fruit of Life, which spawned Adam, and the angels, gives great physical powers, such as the AT-Field, and the Fruit of Knowledge, which gave rise to the human race. But this is where things becomes strange, because Lilith, the second angel, was born of the Fruit of Knowledge, as we were.

"This also brings us to believe that Lilith was the original human being, and we, as modern day humans, are her descendants. But to describe either Adam or Lilith as angels is, in itself, a falsehood."

"Yes," Kaji sighed, "Two beings that should never have met, landed on the same planet, one to create a race of super beings, and another to birth a race of scientific minds." He shook his head, "Now the beings sleep while their children fight over their playground, the planet earth."

"Indeed," Gendo said, "It's amazing to think about what would happen if they ever woke up on their own. But this is also mankind's greatest fear."

"Se we built monsters to fight off the monsters sent by Adam." Kaji said, thinking deeply, "All the Eva's were created from Adam's core, weren't they?"

"Yes, even Unit 01," Gendo said, "But I believe that Unit 13 is a result of Lilith's core."

Kaji raised an eyebrow, "What would happen if an angel got it's claws into that behemoth?"

Gendo sighed, "An Impact."

* * *

_**And done! This was more of an explanatory chapter for the benefit of the readers, with a little drama and comedy mixed into the equation. Next we'll see a few character growths...after Penpen meets the girls ;)**_


End file.
